


Is this Hell?

by NyxiNight



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Elena Gilbert, Bonnie is not nice, Elena Gilbert & Damon Salvatore Friendship, Elena gets shit done, F/M, Judgy Bonnie, Minor Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore, Minor Elena Gilbert/Stefan Salvatore, Protective Jeremy Gilbert, Reincarnation, Screw the Script
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:29:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 190,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26217916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxiNight/pseuds/NyxiNight
Summary: When Alexandra died, in the most boring everyday way possible, she never expected to wake up again. When she does, she doesn’t know what shocks her more, that she’s a teenager again, that she apparently has a little brother or that she’s in the body of Elena Gilbert!
Relationships: Damon Salvatore/Lorenzo "Enzo" St. John, Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert/Elijah Mikaelson, Elena Gilbert/Klaus Mikaelson, Elena Gilbert/Stefan Salvatore, Jeremy Gilbert/Annabelle "Anna" Zhu, Jeremy Gilbert/Kol Mikaelson, Vicki Donovan/Jeremy Gilbert
Comments: 488
Kudos: 541





	1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a story I started to write years ago but haven’t really published it, it has just been sitting in my drafts so I decided to post this and see how it goes.**

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**There is some dialog in this chapter taken from the first episode of The Vampire Diaries, just so you know.**

**It seems like I can't check the multi chapter box so you should know that this is a story with several chapters!**

As Alex lay at the bottom of the stairs the only thing going through her mind was ‘you fucking dumbass’. Somehow, she knew she was dying, she could feel her strength waning as she choked on her own blood. She didn’t feel scared of dying though, it actually felt sort of peaceful.

It wasn’t like there was many people who would miss her. Her parents died when she was young and Alex had been raised by her grandfather, who passed away two years ago. She had never really had any friends either as she was considered weird and sometimes to blunt, she didn’t take shit from anyone and always stood for what she believes in.

Alex tried to take a breath but just breathed in more blood. Of course, her already sucky day would end like this, she knew she shouldn’t have gotten out of bed this morning.

It started when her alarm didn’t ring so she was late to work and then she got fired for some bullshit reason, her punching and calling her boss a misogynist, sexist, swine after he slapped her ass could have something to do with it but you know…whatever.

After that her car broke down and refused to start and she had to walk home in the rain. When Alex finally got home, she was drenched and cold and the only thing she wanted to do was take a warm shower and crawl up in bed with a good book.

And that leads to know; because she had walked up the stairs in her wet socks, she had slipped on the step closest to the top and fallen down with one hell of a bang. At least she would finally find out what happened after death, was there a heaven or hell? Nirvana? Or maybe even Valhalla?

The black spots started to creep in and Alex knew that this was it and as everything went black, she had a peaceful smile on her lips.

XOXOXOX

As she woke up, and how can she wake up, isn’t she supposed to be dead?, Alex noticed that she was laying on a bed. At first, she thought she was in the hospitable but the bed was way to comfortable for it to be a hospital bed.

Alex slowly sat up and looked around. This was definitely not her bed, not even her room. When she turned her head to the side a strand of long, straight brown hair fell in front of her face. Wait…long, brown and straight? That didn’t make a lick of sense, Alex hair was a short pixie cut in the colors pink and green. What the actual fuck was going on?!

She threw the cover from her body and rushed into what she assumed was a bathroom. Luckily, she was right and she turned to look in the mirror. The face staring back at her was not her own and at first, she didn’t really believe what she was seeing.

Staring back at Alex through the mirror was the face of Elena Gilbert, one of the main characters in the tv-series The Vampire Diaries. Alex had watched the show but only once and she died before she could start season five.

Was this a death hallucination? A death dream? Was she in hell?

The thoughts were flying through her head at a dizzying speed and just as she started to swaying the other bathroom door opened and a young man caught her as she fell while exclaiming “Elena!” Then everything went black.

XOXOXOX

“Come on Elena, open your eyes.” A female voice begged Alex while holding her hand but why was she calling her Elena?

“Wa’s g’ng on?” Alex mumbled and opened her eyes. When she saw a woman with red hair and a young man sitting on her bed, she remembered what happened. She was stuck in Elena Gilberts body, a character she didn’t even like, and didn’t know what she was supposed to do now.

Was she supposed to just play along and pretend to be Elena? That would never work, Alex was not the sort of person who could be such a simpering damsel in distress, she rather save herself! And the whole playing the Salvatore brothers against each other for her affections? Alex would rather die than be that cruel to someone.

“Are you okay?” The young man asked, looking concerned. Ah sweet Jeremy, he was one of Alex’ favorite characters from the show.

“I’m fine.” Alex reassured with a smile.

“You are not fine!” Jeremy exclaimed. “If I hadn’t come in and caught you when you fell you could have been really hurt!”

“I think I just got up to quickly this morning or something.” Alex smiled and when she saw the fear and concern in Jeremys eyes, she decided that she would play along at being Elena but she was doing it her way!

“You don’t have to go to school today if you don’t feel up to it.” It took a while for Alex to remember who the woman who spoke to her was.

“No, I'm fine now, aunt Jenna, I’ll go to school.” Alex tried not to cringe. She had to go back to high school? She thought it was over and done with!

“Okay, if you are sure.” Aunt Jenna hesitated for a few moments then she continued. “Bonnie will be here to pick you up in fifteen minutes.” Then she walked out of the room.

“I’ll see you at school and if you feel weird or dizzy at anytime today, come and find me!” Jeremy demanded as he hugged her quickly and walked away.

As Alex got up and started to get dressed, she did her best to remember what happened in the tv-show. If she was right than this was the first day back at school after the summer and Elenas parents had died a few months ago. It might seem cruel but the dead parents where a good thing as it could be used as an excuse for Elenas personality change.

Alex looked at herself in the mirror, she had decided to leave her hair out and only put on some mascara. She wore dark blue jeans, a red top and ankle boots. She really needed to go shopping, most of what Elena owned didn’t really fit Alex style choice.

She needed high healed steal toed boots, black skinny jeans, dark tops and lots and lots of hoddies! But for the moment she decided to go into Jeremys room and steal…eh I mean ‘borrow’ one of his hoddies. As she looked around Alex found a black hoddie with COD on the front that would work with her outfit.

Alex had just shut of the light in Jeremys room when Jenna called out to tell her that Bonnie was there. Well then, let the fun begin.

XOXOXOX

As Bonnie drove them to school and talked about how her grams had told her that she was psychic, Alex was lost in her own thoughts. She knew that she should start seeing and thinking of herself as Elena Gilbert instead of Alexandra Cheshire Thorn, but it was hard to just let go of the person she had been and of the name her parents had given her.

“Elena!” Bonnie called out smiling.

“Sorry, I was lost in thought again, wasn’t I?” Alex asked awkwardly. “You were talking about how your psychic now?”

“Yes, but there was actually something else I wanted to ask you.” Bonnie looked at her and when Alex nodded, she continued. “You are acting different today, why is that? And whos’ hoddie is that?”

“The hoddie is Jeremys and as for why I'm acting differently, I have decided that I am done pretending that I'm the same person I was before my parents died, I have tried the whole summer but I just can’t do it.” Alex told her firmly. “I don’t like the same type of clothes or music anymore and I refuse to be some damsel in distress, I shall fight my own fucking dragons.”

“Did you just sort of quote “Cinderella” by The Cheetah Girls.” Bonnie laughed.

“Yes, I did.” Alex/Elena nodded with a smirk.

Before anything else could be said something crashed into the windshield of the car and Bonnie severed in shock.

“What was that?” Bonnie asked slightly scared then she turned towards Alex/Elena. “Are you okay?”

“My soul just left my body but otherwise I'm fine.” Alex/Elena laughed slightly breathless. “I can’t be scared of cars forever.”

“I’m going to use my psychic powers and predict that this year is going to be awesome!” Bonnie declared as she started to drive again.

When they arrive at school, they hear talk of a new student but they ignore it as they walk to Alex/Elenas locker. Bonnie is talking about someone being a tranny mess and Alex/Elena laughs and says that that phrase is so last year.

“Find a man and coin a phrase, it’s a busy year.” Bonnie smiles but lost it as she looks at something behind Alex/Elena.

Alex/Elena turns to look and awkwardly waves at Matt…something, Elenas ex-boyfriend. “He hates me.” She sighs as he only closes his own locker and walk away.

“That’s not hate, that’s ‘you dumped me but I'm to cool to show it but secretly I'm listening to…”

Alex/Elena tunes her out as she sees one of her favorite characters from the show approach her.

“Elena! Oh my God!” Caroline walks up and pulls Alex/Elena into a hug. “How are you? It’s so good to see you.”

Then she turns to Bonnie. “How is she? Is she good?”

“Caroline ‘she’ is standing right here” Alex/Elena laughs. “And I'm fine, just done pretending to be someone I'm not anymore.”

“You poor thing.” Caroline pulls her into another tight hug. Then she steps back and beams at them. “Okay, see you guys later?” And then she walks away.

“She is way to happy in the morning.” Alex/Elena shakes her head with a smile and starts walking with Bonnie again.

They stop outside the reception as they see the new guy with his back to them.

“That’s a hot back.” Bonnie comments as she stares at his back. “I'm seeing Chicago and he plays the guitar.”

“You’re really going to milk the whole psychic thing, aren’t you?” Alex/Elena laughs then she sees Jeremy walk into the bathroom. “Excuse me.”

Alex/Elena runs after Jeremy into the men’s room, not feeling a lick of embarrassment even as she bumps into some random guy when she walks through the door.

“Jeremy…” Before Alex/Elena can say anything else, Jeremy is in front of her.

“Are you okay? You’re not feeling dizzy or anything, right?” Jeremy was looking at her with big soulful eyes filled with concern.

“No, I'm absolutely fine, you don’t have to worry.” Alex/Elena smiles but gets interrupted again.

“Oh, so you’re just here to bust me for my coping mechanism then?” Jeremy sneered defensively.

“Actually, I just wanted to tell you that I borrowed one of your hoddies and I hope you won’t get mad, I just needed something that made me feel safe.” Alex/Elena shrugged a little embarrassed.

“My hoddies make you feel safe?” Jeremy looked chocked but also very pleased. “And you’re really not here to bust my ass?”

“Yeah the hoddie is basically a safety blanket I guess.” Alex/Elena wrapped the hoddie tighter around herself. “As for busting you, Jeremy I'm your sister not you mother. If you want to talk, I’ll always be here but it’s your life and I might not agree with the whole drugs and drinks thing but I will love you no matter what.”

“Thank you, Lena.” Jeremy murmurs as he hugs her, as he pulls back, he looks her straight in the eyes and says seriously. “Now remember, if you start feeling dizzy you find me.” Then he walks out.

Is this what it feels like to have people who cares? It feels nice. Alex/Elena decides right then and there that she would protect Jeremy at all costs.

As she walks out of the bathroom, she bumps into someone. Oh right, this is where Elena meets Stefan, the creepy stalker vampire guy. Alex/Elena sort of likes Stefans character but she definitely won’t be dating him, they can be friends but nothing more.

“Oh, sorry.” Alex/Elena says as she steps back.

“Isn’t this the men’s room?” Stefan asks awkwardly.

“Yup.” Alex/Elena smirks.

“So why were you in there?” Stefan wants to know with a quirked smile.

“You can’t just assume that because someone’s physical body is female that the soul matches.” Alex/Elena informs him with a raised eyebrow. “Now, I'm not saying that that is the reason I was in there but you never know.” She shrugs and pats him on the arm. “Anyway, got to go. See ya!”

As Alex/Elena walks off she doesn’t see the way Stefan looks after her with confusion and desire.

XOXOXOX

This day is pure hell! Or at least that’s what Alex/Elena thinks. The rest of the school day had just felt completely useless, she had done high school once before, she didn’t need it again. And in history Bonnie had texted her that Stefan was looking at her! She didn’t need this drama!

At least she had fun buying new clothes and stuff that fit her sense of style. She had forgone buying hoddies after she had seen how happy Jeremy was that she used his, so she would keep doing that.

Now she was sitting in front off Greyson and Miranda Gilberts grave and trying to silently, you could never know who was around and listening in, apologize for taking over their daughters’ body. How do you even apologize for something like that? ‘Hey my name is Alex and I've possessed your daughter’s body; hope you don’t mind?’

Alex/Elena looks up as she hears a crow and remembers that Damon, Stefans brother, mentioned something about controlling it and something about fog? So, she decides to have fun with it.

“Are you death? Or just an omen?” Alex/Elena asks hopefully, trying to hide her devious smirk. “But you know what we say to death? Not today!”

She stands up and starts to walk away when the crow lands on her shoulder and the fog starts creeping in. Is Damon trying to scare her? Well, he can try, at least. “You want a free ride? Wouldn’t it just be easier to, you know, fly?”

As Alex/Elena is walking she doesn’t notice that she drops her day planner. She soon runs into Stefan and the crow flies away. “Bye!” She calls after it with a small laugh.

“Are you okay?” Stefan asks with a head tilt, like a puppy.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Alex/Elena looks at him.

“Well, you did just shout bye at a bird.” Stefan sounded so awkward that Alex/Elena almost laughed at him.

“Shouldn’t you always greet death as an old friend?” Alex/Elena wonders out loud. Maybe if she makes him believe that she’s crazy or insane he wont fall in love with her.

“I’m Stefan by the way.” He smiles at her.

“I know. I'm Elena.” Alex/Elena almost introduced herself as Alex but manages to stop herself in time. “We have history together.”

“And math and French.” Stefan says awkwardly.

Stefan was really awkward in the beginning, wasn’t he? Then to have the conversation over with she discreetly cut her hand on a sharp rock she has in her pocket. Don’t ask why she has that in her pocket, she just does, okay?

“Did you hurt yourself?” Stefan hesitantly asks.

“Huh? Oh, would you look at that.” Alex/Elena says as she looks at the cut in the middle of her left palm. When she looks up again, Stefan is gone.

XOXOXOX

When she got home, she’s met by Jeremy who seems to be feeling worried and protective of her since this morning.

“Where were you?” He asks, concerned.

“Cemetery.” Alex/Elena shrugs. “I needed to get away for a few moments.”

“As long as your okay.” He smiles at her.

“I am. I might have tripped and cut my hand a little but its already stopped bleeding.” She holds up her left hand to show him.

“We need to clean that.” Jeremy declares and pulls her to the bathroom.

Alex/Elena lets him take care of her. It seems like Jeremy is thriving and doing better as long as he can take care of his sister and feel needed and who is she to stop him.

XOXOXOX

Later that evening as Alex/Elena is making herself ready to meet Bonnie and Caroline at the grill, she contemplates what to wear. In the end she decides to wear her new black skinny jeans, her new knee high, five inch healed boots with silver claps in the front, a dark blue halter-top with an open back and Jeremys hoddie.

She almost skips down the stairs and meets Jenna at the bottom.

“You look cool.” Jenna smiles at her.

“Thank you, I'm going to meet Bonnie and Caroline at the grill.” Alex/Elena informs her with a beaming smile.

“Have fun!” Jenna says as she walks towards the kitchen, then she turns back to Alex/Elena and says. “Wait I got this: Don’t stay out to late, it’s a school night.” Then she looks proud of herself.

“Nicely done aunt Jenna.” Alex/Elena praises with a smirk and goes to open the door, running in to Stefan.

“I was about to knock.” He confessed quickly.

“Are you stalking me?” Alex/Elena decides to tease him.

“What? No! I just wanted to return this.” Stefan held out her day planner. “I think you dropped it at the cemetery.”

“Thank you.” Alex/Elena smiled but, on the inside, she cursed, this meant she had to invite him to the grill, didn’t it?

“I was just on my way to the grill and since you’re here and you’re new I thought you might want to come along.” Alex/Elena stuttered out with a one-armed shrug as she placed her day planner on the table by the door. “I mean you haven't really had the chance to make any friends yet.”

“Eh sure, I’ll go with you and meet your friends.” Stefan smiled at her.

Alex/Elena couldn’t really understand why he was even attracted to her after everything Kathrine put him through with the compulsions and stuff. Maybe he was a bit damaged in the head?

When they arrived at the grill after a very awkward car ride Alex/Elena spotted Bonnie and Caroline sitting in a booth and she made her way over to them.

“I brought Stefan with me; he hasn’t really had a chance to make friends here yet.” Alex/Elena smiles at them and sits down, doing her best to encourage Caroline in her pursuit of Stefan. Luckily it seems like Caroline gets that Alex/Elena is trying to help her get the guy because she turns a blinding smile towards Alex/Elena with a grateful look in her eyes.

Alex/Elena listens quietly for a while as Caroline asks Stefan all sorts of questions. It’s all going fine until Caroline mentions the back to school party the following evening and Stefan asks if Alex/Elena is going. And she can see Caroline almost deflate in front of her eyes.

Before Bonnie can screw up and tell him that ‘Of course she’s going’ Alex/Elena smiles and says, “I don’t know but Caroline is definitely going so you could go with her so you have someone you know with you.”

“Now I'm going to talk to my little brother, I’ll be back.” She gets up and brushes her hand against Carolines arm in silent support as she walks past and Caroline smiles at her.

Alex/Elena comes up to Jeremy just in time for Vicki to walk off with Tyler.

“You deserve better, you know?” Alex/Elena wraps her arm around his and leans her head against his shoulder.

“But I really like her.” Jeremy murmurs back sadly.

“I will support you what ever you choose to do.” Alex/Elena smiles at him.

“Love you, Lena.” He says it so quietly she isn’t sure if she was meant to hear it or not. Then louder he says. “It just pisses me off the way Tyler treats her and he’s always picking fights with me!”

“Maybe he likes you.” Alex/Elena smirks. “You know, maybe he’s pulling your metaphorical pigtails.”

“Oh, get out of here.” Jeremy laughs slightly weirded out.

“I’ll see you at home Jere.” Alex/Elena says and decides to go home.

Later as she lies in bed about to fall asleep, she things about what a hell of a day it has been. Its only been one day since she woke up in this world and she’s already wishing that she had stayed dead, well not really, but anyway. How the hell will she handle Damon when he gets to town and later the originals?

Well that’s a problem for tomorrow, she thinks and turns on her side and falls asleep.

**A/N: So this is the first chapter.**

**Did you like it? Should I continue or should I just scrap the idea all together?**

**Anyway, this is the only chapter that she will be called Alex/Elena in the rest of the story she will just be Elena.**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi.**


	2. Ripples on a Pond

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

The morning dawned way too early for Elenas liking, she just wanted to kill her alarm clock and go back to sleep!

Jeremy had convinced her to go to the back to school party yesterday. She had avoided Stefan and Matt and spent her evening with Jeremy. Then Vicki had been attacked in the woods and Stefan had disappeared, seems like Damon had arrived in town.

After forcing herself out of bed and into the shower, where she contemplated staying for the rest of the day, Elena stood in front of her wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear while the moisturizer cream she was wearing, made the room smell pleasantly like warm vanilla and coconuts.

In the end she decided to go with a pair of dark blue jean shorts, a black spaghetti strap top, thigh high black socks with two white stripes at the top and a pair of sneakers. Then she made her way to her dresser and chose a pair of black earrings that looked like zippers and a necklace with a red stone. As usual the only makeup she wore was mascara and eyeliner, she never really had the energy to get up forty-five minutes earlier in the morning just to put on a face full of makeup.

Elena made her way to Jeremys room while pulling her hair into a high ponytail, knocked on the door and waited for him to either open it or call out for her to enter. One of her biggest pet peeves was when people knocked on someone’s door but didn’t wait for them to open said door or even wait for permission to enter and just barged in.

Jeremy opened the door with a mumbled “Lena?” in just sleep pants while rubbing sleep dust from his eye.

“Have you been working out, Jere?” Elena asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “Trying to impress someone?”

“What do you want, Lena?” Jeremy asked with a blush.

“Don’t worry, you look good.” Elena continued to tease.

“Lena!” Jeremy called out with an embarrassed laugh.

“Sorry, sorry.” Elena threw her hands up in mock surrender. “I just wanted to know if I could borrow another hoddie?”

“Of course!” Jeremy smiled brightly at his older sister. He opened the door completely and walked over to his dresser. It made him feel warm knowing that Elena felt safer when she used his hoddies.

After their parents had died Elena had changed, at first, she was just depressed and wouldn’t talk just spent her time writing in her diary all the time and the doctor said that it could be survivors quilt. But after a while Elena started to try to act like she had before the accident but at the same time she was trying too hard and it made it awkward and stilted.

Then the week before school Elena had become quiet again and had complained about headaches and light sensitivity. After that it was like she had decided to stop pretending to be the same person she was before the accident and Jeremy liked this version of his sister. It almost felt like he could take care of her and protect her, especially when she asked to use his hoddies to feel safe.

“Here, I hope this works.” Jeremy smiled as he handed over a black hoddie with a dark blue tribal wolf on it.

“Thank you!” Elena beamed as she pulled the hoddie over her head. “By the way, wanna walk with me to school?”

“Aren’t you getting a ride from Bonnie again?” Jeremy raised an unsure eyebrow.

“Nope I decided to walk today.” Elena shrugged, she then turned to reassure Jeremy. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No, I want to, just let me put on some clothes.” Jeremy hastily told her, wondering if her choice to walk had anything to do with her still feeling freaked out in a car.

“I’ll wait downstairs.” Elena smiled and walked away.

Elena bumped into Jenna standing in front of a mirror on the way. “Do I look adult? As in respectful parent?” Jenna asked as she looked at Elena.

“Depends on where you’re going?” Elena coked her head to the side with a smile.

“Jeremy’s parent-teacher conference.” Jenna pulled her hair up. “Hair up or down?”

“Sexy stewardess.” Elena said with a smirk and then Jenna let her hair down. “Boozy housewife.”

“Up it is!” Jenna pulled her hair up and tied it. “You’re feisty today, you look hot to.”

“I don’t know, today is just a good day.” Elena smiled and looked down, as she did, she noticed that with Jeremys hoddie on it looked like she wasn’t wearing any pants. “I have decided that caring about what everybody thinks is just a waste of energy, as long as I have you and Jeremy I will survive.”

“You’ll always have me, Lena.” Jeremy declared as he came up and hugged her from behind.

“Thank you, Jere.” Elena murmured quietly to her brother.

At that moment Elena new she had changed something because in the tv show, Jeremy had lied to Jenna about a bird house and left early, but here he was, ready to walk with her to school.

XOXOXOX

The walk to school was pleasant and fun. Elena and Jeremy talking about different things but keeping away from the heavy stuff.

“I’m thinking of getting a motorcycle.” Elena admitted to her brother when they had walked almost to whole way to school.

“Like a Harley Davidson?” Jeremy laughed because the picture in his head of his petit older sister driving a big Harley Davidson was frankly hilarious.

“No!” Elena laughed while she hit him on the arm. “More like a _Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R_ ”

“You have really thought this out, haven’t you?” Jeremy asked slowly.

“Yeah, it’s just…I want that freedom, you know?” Elena shrugged, she really missed her bike from her last life, when she was out driving it was one of the few times, she felt completely free.

“Well, if it makes you happy, I’ll support you.” Jeremy smiled at her. “And mom and dad were pretty loaded so it’s not like we can’t afford to buy a motorcycle for you. And if you don’t want to use mom and dad’s money you could always sell your car.”

“You are the best little brother anyone could ask for.” Elena gushed as she pulled Jeremy into a big hug.

“Just promise to give me a ride to school every now and then and we’ll be even.” Jeremy teased but hugged back just as tightly.

At that point they had arrived at school and Elena was ambushed by a blond bombshell named Caroline.

“Elena! I need to talk to you!” Caroline grabbed her arm and started to pull her away from Jeremy.

“Talk to you later, Jere!” Elena called to her brother who was just laughing at her.

Caroline dragged her through the school into an unused classroom and locked the door.

“I need your help!” Caroline said in a mix between a demand and begging.

“Sure, what do you need help with?” Elena asked kindly.

“Stefan.” Caroline mumbled quietly.

“What about him?” Elena coaxed when it didn’t seem like Caroline was going to continue.

“How do I get him to like me?” Caroline moaned pitifully, then she started to ramble. “I tried so hard at the grill but the only thing he wanted to know about was you and then you left while at the same time giving me your encouragement and support. And I know that it’s not your fault, you even suggested that he go with me to the party yesterday, which he did, and the only thing he asked about was you.”

“I’m sorry.” Elena sounded sad and uncertain. “I don’t know what you want me to do?”

“He seems to really like you and he has only met you once or twice. Can you show me how to be more like you so he’ll like me?” Caroline looked earnestly at Elena.

“Just be you, Caroline.” Elena looked at her. “There is only one Caroline Forbes and that’s you.”

“But he doesn’t like me.” Caroline said sadly.

“If Stefan can’t see want an amazing young woman you are then he is not worth your time and definitely not your tears.” Elena whipped away a tear from Carolines cheek. “You are a gorgeous blond bombshell with an amazing personality, some people are just to blind or dumb to see that.”

“Thank you for being my best friend!” Caroline hugged Elena tightly. Then she pulled back, took a deep breath and collected herself. “Is my makeup okay?”

“You look stunning!” Elena beamed.

After that they walked arm in arm out of the room, looking like two regal queens as they walked through the school.

XOXOXOX

After lunch she made her way to history class, which she both loved and hated. She loved to learn about ancient times, like the Vikings, the Greeks, the Romans and other ancient civilizations. But she got easily bored when it came to modern history and she never really remembered any of what she learned about it.

As Elena walked into the class room she saw the way Mr. Tanner looked at her legs and ass and wanted to punch him in the face. He was what? In the middle of his forties? And while Elena as Alex had been thirty-two, right now she was seventeen! Pervert!

Elena had done her best to avoid Stefan during the day and as she sat down, she could feel his stare burning wholes in her back. She thought if she avoided him, he would lose interest but it seems like she was wrong. Couldn’t he just go for Caroline?

He kept on looking at her during the whole class but Elena refused to look back, she didn’t want to encourage his crush or anything like it.

“Originally discovered nearly five centuries ago, it hasn’t been over Mystic Falls in over 145 years. Now, the comet will be at it’s brightest right after dusk during tomorrow’s celebration.” Mr. Tanner finished his lecture right before the bell rang.

Elena quickly picked up her stuff and walked out of the class room, making her way to her locker.

“Have I done something to offend you?” A voice said from behind her and she jumped around, hitting her shoulder on her open locker door.

“Stefan! Don’t sneak up on people!” Elena rubbed her shoulder as she half glared at him.

“Sorry.” Stefan rubbed the back of his neck. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Huh? Oh, no you have not done anything to offend me, why do you ask?” Elena asked trying to pretend that she didn’t know exactly why he would ask.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Stefan stated softly.

“Have I?” Elena puzzled lowly. “I have just had a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

“Elena!” Jeremy called out for her from his own locker at the other side of the hall.

“Sorry, I’ve been summoned.” Elena made ha hasty retreat towards Jeremy trying not to make it seem like she was running away from Stefan.

“I am going to hang out with some friends but if you want, I can walk you home from school first.” Jeremy asked as Elena made his way over to him.

“That’s very nice of you but from what Bonnie texted me it seems I'm being kidnapped to the grill.” Elena giggled softly. “Do you want dinner when you get home?”

“Nah I’ll just eat a sandwich or something.” Jeremy shrugged. “But could you tell aunt Jenna for me?”

“Elena!” She heard Caroline call and as she turned towards her, she waved and called out. “Hurry up!”

“I’ll tell aunt Jenna you’ll be home later than usual and I’ll see you later Jeremy.” Elena smiled and quickly hugged him. As she was walking away, she heard one of Jeremys so called friends whisper. “Your sister has a great ass” Elena almost smiled as she heard Jeremy tell him to shut up or he would get a broken nose.

XOXOXOX

“Well, I was talking to Grams and she said that the comet is a sign of impending doom.” Bonnie told them as they were sitting in a booth at the grill. “The last time it passed over Mystic Falls there was a lot of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity.”

“Yeah and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens.” Caroline sassed while flipping her blond hair over her shoulder. Then she turned to Elena. “Why not just tell him straight to his face that you are not interested instead of avoiding him?”

“You are right, it’s not fair of me to expect him to know that I'm not interested of I don’t say anything.” Elena nodded with determination. “I'm going over right now to tell him.”

As she got up, she heard Caroline tell her ‘Good Luck’.

It took her around thirty minutes to walk to the boarding house but that was okay, that way she could decide what to say to him before she got there. When she got to the front door, she saw that it was open and slowly made her way inside.

“Stefan?” Elena called out loudly. “Anybody home?”

The bird that flew through the front door startled her and she turned around. When she turned back, she jumped in fright at a person standing right behind her.

“You must be Elena.” Damon smirked at her. “I'm Damon, Stefans brother.”

“Yeah I figured. You and Stefan have the same annoying habit of sneaking up on me.” Elena snarked at him. “I didn’t know Stefan had a brother.”

“Well, Stefans not one to brag.” Damon smirked and shrugged. “Please, come in, I'm sure Stefan will be along any second.”

Elena was admiring the parlor; it was quite beautiful and think of all the history! “Your parlor is beautiful.”

“It’s a bit kitschy for my tastes.” Damon slowly looked Elena up and down. “I can see why my brother is so smitten. For a while there I never thought he’d get over the last one, nearly destroyed him.”

“Me and Stefan aren’t together.” Elena told him. “And ‘the last one’?”

“You aren’t?” Damon looked even more intrigued now. “And the last one is Kathrine, Stefans ex. I assume that since you two aren’t together that you haven’t had the awkward exes talk yet.”

“It’s none of my business anyway.” Elena shrugged uncaringly.

“At least you’re not a rebound.” Damon did his best not to smile. “We all know how those relationships end.”

“That’s a depressing way to look at love.” Elena almost pitied him.

“I'm a fatalist.” Damon explained then he turned to look at something behind Elena. “Hello Stefan.”

“Elena, I didn’t know you where coming over.” Stefans voice was a mix of hope and emotionless as he looked between her and his brother.

“I know, I should have called but I needed to talk with you.” Elena looked apologetic.

“Oh, don’t be silly! You’re welcome here any time. Isn’t she Stefan?” Damon mocked Stefan with a look. “You know, I should break out the family photo albums or home movies. But I have to warn you, he wasn’t always such a looker.”

“Thank you for stopping by, Elena. It was great to see you but can we talk tomorrow at school?” Stefan almost pleaded with her.

“Yeah, of course.” Elena made her way to the door. “It was nice meeting you, Damon.”

“Great meeting you too, Elena!” Damon called out to her just as the door shut behind her.

As she made her way back home Elena called Caroline and asked her over for dinner so they could talk which Caroline quickly agreed to.

XOXOXOX

Elena is cooking with Carolines help while Jenna drinks wine and watches, not being allowed to cook after ‘the incident’.”

“He’s on the rebound and has raging family issues.” Elena cautioned Caroline.

“Well, at least it’s an ex-girlfriend.” Jenna gesticulated dramatically with her wine glass. “Wait till you date a guy with mummy issues or cheating issues or amphetamine issues.”

They heard the door open and Jenna was on alert as Jeremy came into the kitchen.

“Jeremy, where were you?” Jenna asked slightly angry.

“Oh crap, this is my fault, I was supposed to tell you that Jeremy was hanging with some friends.” Elena groaned and hit herself on the forehead as she looked at Jenna. “I’m so sorry Jeremy.”

“It’s okay but please remember to tell me next time so I don’t get grey hair for nothing.” Jenna joked with a chuckle.

“You want food Jeremy?” Elena asked kindly.

“Aunt Jenna didn’t’ cook, right?” Jeremy teased his aunt.

“Hey!” Jenna tried to slap the back of Jeremys head but he managed to duck out of the way.

“No, aunt Jenna didn’t cook.” Elena giggled. “Me and Caroline has made meat sauce and spaghetti.”

“How can I say no to food cooked by my wonderful sister and a beautiful blond?” Jeremy smiled at them and Caroline had a slight blush dusting her cheeks. “Even though I've already eaten.”

“Of course, you can eat more Mr. Jeremy ‘Black Hole’ Gilbert.” Jenna laughed at him.

“Hey aunt Jenna, how did Jeremys parent-teacher conference go today?” Elena asked as she put the spaghetti in the boiling water.

“Your history teacher is an absolute ass!” Jenna growled and drank the rest of the wine in her glass. “’Discover the impossible, Ms. Sommers’ Got it, thanks. Like I didn’t know I was screwing up already.”

“You are not screwing up aunt Jenna!” Both Elena and Jeremy exclaimed.

“They are right.” Caroline agreed as she poured more wine for Jenna. “I think you are doing a marvelous job actually.”

“You are all so kind but I am screwing up, you know how I know?” Jenna smiled sadly at them. “Because I'm not her. Miranda made everything look easy. You know, high school, marriage, having Elena and then Jeremy. I could never do that:”

“I think you are being to hard on yourself.” Caroline said and hugged Jenna before Jeremy or Elena had a chance to say anything. “Did you know that the last week is the first time I’ve seen Elena so happy in a long time? And today at school was the first time I’ve heard Jeremy laugh since long before the accident.”

“You preach sister.” Elena nodded at Caroline and everyone quietly looked at her.

“What?” Elena asked and that made them all break out into laughter.

AS the laughter died down the four of them sat down to eat. “Did Mr. tanner say anything else?” Jeremy asked a little worried.

“It was mostly along the lines of ‘Mr. Gilbert is not doing this blah blah blah he’s failing that blah blah blah I was lenient last year blah blah blah:” Jenna ranted. “He’s a real piece of work that on.”

“He’s always been an ass.” Elena nodded, deciding against bringing up the way Mr. Tanner had looked at her earlier that day.

“Yeah and he seems to dislike Jeremy more than anyone else for some reason.” Caroline added with a frown.

“He’s going to fail me.” Jeremy groaned and banged his head on the table.

“No, he won’t.” Elena denied but knew it was a big possibility.

“Even if he does you could always choose to do the history course online with Jenna’s permission.” Caroline smiled reassuringly at him.

“Caroline,” Jeremy breathed out in awe. “You are a genius!”

Caroline blushed, not used to people praising her, especially for her intellect. She was seen as the bubbly, ditzy blond one and that automatically made people place her in the ‘dumb blond’ category. Except it seemed, the people around the table right now.

“How about we play monopoly after dinner?” Jenna offered, not wanting to give up this family night.

“I'm game.” Elena smiled then she turned towards Caroline. “You could call your mom to ask if you could sleep here, if you want?”

“Works for me.” Caroline beamed. Before the start of school, she had always felt like she was Elenas and Bonnies friends while the where each other’s friends but not really hers. Now, after school began again, she felt like Elena was choosing her over Bonnie which made her feel warm inside, she had never been anyone’s first choice before.

“As long as Elena is the bank, I'm in.” Jeremy chimed in with a mischievous look. “Aunt Jenna tends to cheat.”

“You take that back, you little delinquent.” Jenna laughed and pointed a mockingly stern finger at Jeremy.

The rest of the evening was spent teasing, laughing and having fun as they played several different boardgames.

XOXOXO

The next day Elena was feeling sassy and confident so she was wearing Jeremys wolf hoddie, a dark red skater skirt and blood red nine-inch heels to match. Her hair was done in a half up half down messy style with red ribbons tied into it.

As she and Bonnie were walking towards the school, Bonnie was trying to tell Elena not to date Stefan. “I'm not saying don’t date the guy, I'm just saying take it slow.”

“Bonnie!” Elena interrupted loudly. “I'm not interested in dating Stefan, be his friend? Sure, why not, but no dating, I don’t feel ready for that.”

“Good then you can play the field, you know?” Bonnie nodded almost completely ignoring what Elena was telling her.

“What about ‘I don’t feel ready for dating’ do you not understand.” Elena groaned and when Bonnie ignored her again, she threw her hands up in defeat and walked off.

Elena walked around until she saw Caroline sitting alone at a table under a tree. She walked over and sat down with a sigh.

“What’s with you?” Caroline asked concerned.

“Has Bonnie always been this…judgmental and thinks she knows best?” Elena asked quietly.

“Yes.” Caroline answered simply. “You just haven’t noticed it before.”

“I don’t like it.” Elena sulked a little and Caroline leaned her shoulder against Elenas in silent support.

“You two okay?” Stefan asked as he sat down opposite them.

“Yeah we’re fine.” Elena sighed and sat up straight.

“I came over because yesterday you said you wanted to talk to me.” Stefan looked at Elena quizzically.

“Yeah…” Elena hesitated for a few seconds then she continued. “I just wanted to tell you that I'm flattered for the attraction you seem to feel form me but I do not feel that way about you and I don’t feel ready to date anyone at all at the moment. If you can accept that then we could be friends if you want.”

Stefan sat quietly for a while then he smiled a tiny smile, more of a twitch of his lips really. “Thank you for letting me down easy. And friends sound good.”

“Good.” Elena smiled, ignoring the sad look in Stefans eyes.

“So Stefan, any thought on joining the football team?” Caroline asked, trying to ease the tension in the air.

“I don’t know.” Stefan shrugged uncertainly.

“Don’t you like football?” Elena asked with a frown.

“I love football.” Stefan quickly told them then a little quieter he said. “Damon taught me.”

“You could at least think it over.” Caroline insisted as the bell rang.

The three of them made their way to history class together while Caroline tried to convince Stefan to try out for the football team and for Elena to rejoin the cheerleaders. As they entered the class room Elena noticed the way Tanner looked at her legs and as again but this time he also licked his lips and adjusted his pants.

Next time she was going to wear a pair of Jeremys sweatpants to history class, Elena decided with a shudder. When they sat down, she noticed how Stefan glared darkly at Tanner. Had he also seen the look and pants adjustment?

As Tanner started the class he kept on stealing glances at Elena. What was going on? As far as she knew he never did that in the tv-show, so why was he doing it now?

“Ms. Gilbert?” Elena was nocked out of her contemplation by Mr. Tanner calling her name.

“Hmm?” She asked as she looked at him.

“Pearl Harbor?” Tanner asked her with a hastily hidden leer.

“Umm…” Elena mumbled drawing a blank.

“December 7, 1941.” Stefan quickly answered for her.

“Thank you, Ms. Gilbert.” Tanner sneered at Stefan.

“Anytime.” Stefan smirked back with a dark look in his eyes.

“Very well.” Tanner raised an eyebrow in challenge. “The fall of the Berlin Wall?”

“1989.” Stefan answered quickly. “I'm good with dates, sir.”

“Are you? How good?” The challenge could now be felt by everyone. “Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act?”

“1964.”

“John F. Kennedys assassination?”

“1963.”

“Martin Luther King?”

“1968.”

“Lincoln?”

“1865.”

“Roe vs. Wade?”

“1973.”

“Brown vs. Board?”

“1954.”

“The battle of Gettysburg?”

“1863.”

“Korean War?”

“1950 to 1953.”

“Ha! It ended in ‘52’” Mr. Tanner gloated with a self-satisfied smirk.

“Uh, actually, sir, it was ‘53’”

“Look it up, somebody, quickly!”

“I was 1953” A student, that Elena wasn’t certain of the name of, said impressed.

The class all cheered for Stefan as Elena nodded and mouthed ‘impressive’ knowing exactly how he knew all of those years.

XOXOXOX

When Elena finally crawled into bed that evening, she wasn’t just tired she was exhausted. After school Stefan had tried out for the football team and Elena had refused to rejoin cheerleading but she promised to be there for Caroline. That, of course, let her see when Amanda, one of the cheerleaders, came to practice with Damon.

Elena had raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him when he looked at her and his smirk had faltered just a smidge. It seems like he hadn’t been able to charm Caroline this time which means that Elena had changed a lot of things. She was very happy with this change though; Caroline was her best friend and she didn’t want her to get hurt.

She had also talked to Jenna about the whole wanting a motorbike thing and Jenna had been surprisingly supportive, that could have something with her majoring in psychology or something.

Elena was also a little worried about the things that were coming. She knew she didn’t remember everything about the tv-show and what she remembered she tried to change for the better. For example, one of the changes she was proudest off was her relationship with Jeremy and him stopping the whole drug/alcohol abuse thing.

Jeremy had even come to her today and admitted that he didn’t really have feelings for Vicki, being with her was just a way for him to escape reality for a while. That also meant that he’d stopped picking fights with Tyler, not that that stopped Tyler from messing with him, but whatever.

Just as Elena was about to fall asleep, she thought she saw a crow sitting on her window sill, watching her intently.

**A/N: End Chapter!**

**I hope you all liked chapter two :)**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	3. Things are speeding up

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

**WARNING! This chapter contains attempt rape, you have been warned. WARNING!**

Around a week had passed since Stefan won what the student body of Mystic Falls High called ‘The Battle of the Dates’ and the first football game was tomorrow. And of course, in typical Mystic Falls fashion, there was going to be a party the night before. Seriously, did they have a party for everything?

Every day Mr. Tanners looks got worse and worse and Elena didn’t know what to do. She felt uncomfortable walking in to the history class room, and it didn’t matter what she was wearing either. One day Elena had come to school dressed in Jeremys clothes and still Mr. Tanner stared and leered and he even ‘accidentally’ dragged his hand across her breasts or ass on several different occasions.

Elena hadn’t told anyone about the touches, she didn’t want to worry anyone. Stefan knew about the leering and suggestive looks and he tended to glare at Tanner when he had the chance and Elena had told Caroline when she asked if Caroline knew if Tanner looked at anyone else like he did her. Elena was both relived and scared when Caroline told her that it was only _Elena_ Tanner seemed to look at. She had, of course, sworn Caroline to secrecy about it.

Anyway, back to the party, Elena had promised to meet both Stefan and Caroline in the parking lot before the party. Just as she stared to wonder where her friends had gotten to, she was ambushed in a hug from behind.

“I love your outfit!” Caroline squealed in her ear.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled and looked down at what she was wearing. Tight, black, skinny jeans, sneakers and one of Jeremys t-shirts tied under her breasts, showing of her flat stomach.

“Do you think Jeremy would let me borrow one of his shirts to?” Caroline asked with a smile.

“You could always ask, the worst thing that can happen is that he says no.” Elena shrugged and started to walk towards Stefan who she just noticed coming their way. “Nice jersey.”

“Thanks.” Stefan laughed while fiddling with a box and Elena remembered the necklace filled with vervain from the tv-show.

“Stefan, you okay?” Caroline asked when it looked like he was only going to stand there.

“You two are my best friends here, actually you are my only friends, so I wanted to give you two something.” Stefan opened the box. Inside there was the necklace that Elena remembers from the show and beside that was a beautiful armband with four charms hanging from it, a heart that looks like it opens, which is probably were the vervain is, a paw print, a blue stone and a key. “You can decide between you which one gets what but I hope you’ll both wear them.”

“They are stunning.” Caroline breathed out. “And they look really expensive.”

“They have been in my family for a while so they didn’t cost me anything.” Stefan admitted.

Elena and Caroline had a silent conversation between them. Then with a nod and a smile to Elena Caroline picked up the necklace. “If you are sure, who am I to turn down such a beautiful gift.”

“Can you help me put it on?” Elena asked softly, feeling like she’s forgetting something that has to do with the necklace but can recall what.

“Of course.” Stefan smiled relived and helped Elena put the armband on her left wrist.

“I might need a little help to.” Caroline admitted with a sigh. “I keep on getting stuck in my hair.”

Stefan chuckled along with Elena and went to help Caroline with the necklace. He still had feelings for Elena, she was such a kind, beautiful soul, the exact opposite of Kathrine, but he was happy being just friends with her. He didn’t really have any friends except Lexi, and hanging out with Caroline and Elena was fun.

“Let’s go party!!” Caroline chirped and started to drag Stefan along with her towards the main party.

“Go on with out me, I just need to talk to Jeremy.” Elena waved them of and walked over to Jeremy, who was standing with a couple of friends closer to the school.

“Hey Jeremy and friends.” Elena greeted them with a smile.

“Hey Lena.” Jeremy said back with a head tilt. “What can I do for you this fine evening?”

“I was wondering if you were planning on drinking tonight?” Elena wondered.

“What you gonna bust him?” One of the guys with Jeremy asked defensively.

“Chill, dude, Lena's awesome.” Jeremy defended his older sister.

“No, I'm not gonna bust him, that would be highly hypocritical of me, don’t you think?” Elena answered calmly then she turned back to Jeremy. “I'm asking because if you weren’t planning on drinking, I was going to allow you do take my car back home.”

“Won’t you need it?” Jeremy asked shocked as he registered what Elena just told him.

“Nah I'm staying at Carolines place tonight.” Elena smiled.

“I promise that I shall not drink even a single drop of alcohol tonight.” Jeremy swore somnolently.

“I’m trusting you.” Elena held out her car keys towards him.

“Thank you.” Jeremy smiled brightly then he turned to his friends. “Come on, lets go to the grill instead.”

Elena laughed as she watched them leave, she turned to go towards the rest of the party, to find Caroline and Stefan, when she heard a voice behind her. “You are so beautiful.”

Elena turned around quickly, “Mr. Tanner?”

“Before Summer you were already beautiful, your sorrow even enhanced it, but now with this new confidence you are truly breathtaking.” As Tanner was talking, he walked closer to Elena until she had her back against the wall and he was in her space.

“Mr. Tanner what are you doing?” Elena asked softly with a slight tremor of fear in her voice.

“God, I want you!” Tanner licked her neck and was about to do more when they heard a voice call out. “Coach Tanner?!” and then Tanner was several feet away from her, going to meet the football player who had called for him, all the while sending Elena heated looks as he subtly rubbed his crotch.

For several minutes after Tanner had left, Elena stood there trying to get her heartbeat under control. Fear was coursing through her veins as she breathed deeply. What the fuck just happened? This was definitely not in the tv-show.

After she had calmed down, she walked towards the party but before she got there she bumped into Damon.

“Damon? What are you doing here?” Elena asked, happy to have something else to focus on.

“I'm hiding from Amanda.” Damon said it like it was some big secret or something. “She just talks and talks and talks and she is so young.”

“Should have thought of that before you started dating her.” Elena sassed at him, starting to feel more like herself again.

Suddenly Damon was in front of her, staring into her eyes. “You want me.”

“What?” Elena asked, startled.

“You feel drawn to me, you want me and now you’re going to kiss me.” Damon told her and leaned towards her.

At first Elena was confused then she remembered compulsions and decided to mess with Damon a little. “Are you drunk or just arrogant?”

“What?” Damon stepped back in shock.

“Maybe it’s both.” Elena hummed to herself. “Do you want me to get Stefan so he can get you home?”

“I can make my own way home.” Damon declared and walked away quickly.

Elena laughed to herself and was finally able to make her way to the party. When she found Stefan and Caroline the looked a little worried.

“Where have you been?” Caroline asked as she hugged Elena. “I was worried sick.”

“I ran into Stefans brother Damon.” Elena explained and turned towards Stefan. “I think he was drunk because he was saying weird things but when I offered to go get you so you could take him home, he insisted that he could make his own way home and left.”

The rest of the evening was a success and Caroline and Elena didn’t make it to bed before 0300. Luckily, they could sleep in the next morning.

XOXOXOX

Elena hurried her way down the stairs, she was already late for god’s sake! If she just hadn’t taken so long to choose an outfit she would already been at the school by now. She hurriedly put on her glossy black mary jane ankle strapped platform pumps that matched her black princess dress and maroon leather jacket.

She jumped into her car and quickly drove off towards the school. When she got there the parking lot was empty. Elena quickly made her way to the bleachers to watch the game which had already begun. It was a good game and the home team won.

After the game Elena made her way down to the field to congratulate Stefan on the win and Caroline for the awesome cheerleading routine. They talked for a while until Carolines mother called for her and they noticed they were basically the only ones left.

“I should hit the showers.” Stefan smiled slightly.

“I promised mom I would spend the evening with her.” Caroline informed them as she started to run toward where her mother was waiting. “I’ll see you when I see you.”

Both Stefan and Elena laughed, then Elena turned to Stefan. “Do you want a ride home? I can wait in my car for you to be done in the showers.”

“That would be very appreciated.” Stefan accepted and went to take a shower in the locker-room and Elena made her way to her car.

Elena was just about to unlock her car and when she was turned around and pushed up against the car while the one who did it showed himself between her thighs.

“Look at you.” Tanner growled lustfully in her ear. “You are just begging for it, aren’t you?”

“What?” Elena asked a little dazed from when her head hit the car.

Tanner kissed her, forcing his tongue into her mouth all the while he showed his hand under her dress and into her panties.

“By the gods, you are tight.” Tanner groaned as he pulled back from the kiss. “Are you a virgin?” That prospect seemed to excite him even more as he ground his hard cock against her thigh.

“NO! STOP!” Elena did her best to fight and scream but it didn’t seem to deter Tanner. She felt him bite down on her neck and push two fingers inside her. She was crying and screaming for all she was worth but Tanner had placed a hand over her mouth.

And then he was suddenly off her and Elena would have fallen to the ground if Stefan hadn’t caught her. The panic and the earlier hit to the head made her pass out so she missed Damon ripping Tanners throat out with his teeth while Stefan watched on in dark satisfaction.

XOXOXOX

At first when she woke up Elena didn’t remember what happened, until she moved her head and it throbbed painfully. Then she sat up in a panic and started to cry, feeling dirty all over. Why would Tanner do that?

“Elena, calm down, you’re safe.” Stefan rushed into the room.

“Stefan?” Elena asked softly, still scared.

“Yeah, its me.” Stefan looked at her earnestly.

“Did you save me?” Elena wondered.

“It was a team effort.” Stefan admitted. “I checked on you while Damon knocked Tanner out and left him there in the parking lot while we brought you here.”

“And where is ‘here’?” Elena had started to calm down.

“Stefans room.” Came Damons voice from the doorway. He walked into the room carrying a tray with soft foods on.

“Oh, sorry for stealing your bed.” Elena whispered.

“That’s no problem.” Stefan reassured her. “I slept on the couch in the parlor, it was surprisingly comfy.”

“I might actually bring some good news.” Damon smirked as he placed the try in Elenas lap. “Tanner is dead. After I knocked him out and left him in the parking lot a wild animal must have found him and decide to make a meal out of him or something.”

“Does it make me a bad person if I'm happy that he’s dead?” Elena wondered sadly, knowing that ‘the wild animal’ was in actuality Damon.

“Absolutely not.” Damon said strongly and Stefan nodded in agreement.

After that they were quiet as Elena ate what Damon had brought her and Elena decided to stay at the boarding house for the weekend. She might have taken around seven showers that first day to not feel dirty and she did get a little kick out of hearing Damon curse when he had to take a cold shower. Elena decided to tell Jenna, Jeremy and Caroline what had happened, but she choose to wait until Sunday evening.

That talk went as well as Elena expected, Jenna was fluctuating between sadness and anger, while Caroline cried and hugged Elena close almost refusing to let go and Jeremy had started to pace back and forth like a caged animal, spitting and growling in rage.

All three of them wanted Elena to tell the police but Elena refused. What good would that do? Tanner was already dead and couldn’t hurt her again, but after some needling from Caroline, Elena relented and agreed to talk to the cops or at least Carolines mom.

“So, what’s going on?” Sherriff Liz Forbes asked as Caroline led her into the Gilberts living room. “The only thing Caroline would tell me was that you might have some information on Tanner and why he was in the parking lot.”

Elena sat curled up against Jeremy in one of his hoddies and sweatpants. She hesitated but at the encouraging smile from Jenna and Jeremys tightening arms she took a deep breath.

“On Friday after the game I got caught up talking with Caroline and Stefan and it wasn’t until you called for Caroline that we all noticed that almost everyone had left. Because Caroline was going with you, I offered Stefan a ride home which he accepted.” Elena had to take a drink of water as her throat felt parched and dried out.

“That was nice of you.” Liz smiled but she felt worry start to gnaw in her stomach.

“I went to wait in my car while Stefan took a shower. When I got to my car someone forcefully turned me around and pushed me up against my car with enough force that my head banged against it. I was dazed at first but I recognized Mr. Tanner, he was saying weird things.” Elena pressed herself closer to Jeremy for comfort.

“Weird how?” Liz asked slowly.

“Stuff like that he wanted me and that I was begging for it. Then he forced his tongue into my mouth and…” Elena had started to cry.

“And what?” Liz dreaded the answer but she needed to know.

“He forced his hand into my underwear, while asking if I was a virgin. If Stefan and his brother Damon hadn’t come when they did, I don’t know what would have happened. What I do know is that Stefan took care of me while Damon knocked Tanner out and then they brought me to the boarding house.” In the end Elena was shaking with tears running down her face.

“Why not bring you to the hospital?” Liz asked even as she felt rage boil deep in her stomach.

“I asked them not to.” Elena lied. “I didn’t want anyone to know but Caroline, Jeremy and aunt Jenna convinced me I should tell someone.”

“You did the right thing.” Liz reassured as she placed a hand on Elenas knee. “I would recommend that you go to the hospital and do a rape kit.”

“No!” Elena said strongly. “That’s not necessary. It was only his fingers.”

Before Liz could try and convince her, she got a call on the radio. “Sheriff you really need to get down to Tanners apartment.” A deputy said, sounding slightly freaked out.

“I’ll be right there.” Liz confirmed and stood to leave. “Thank you for telling me, it was very brave.” Liz smiled at Elena the she left.

When Liz arrived at Tanners apartment she was meet by Rogers at the door. “What you are about to see is very disturbing.” He warned her and led her into Tanners bedroom.

Liz stopped and stared in horror. All over the room there were pictures of Elena Gilbert. Most of them taken in school, at the grill or out in the town but some were from Elenas bedroom, like someone had sat outside Elenas bedroom widow and taken photos of her. Those were the most disturbing ones because in most of them she was either sleeping or in her underwear.

On one photo in which Elena was wearing only a bra and panties there was some sort of dried substance and Liz really didn’t want to know what it was but she was afraid that she already knew. One thing was for sure, if Tanner hadn’t already been dead, Liz would have shot him.

XOXOXOX

Five days after ‘the incident’ Elena was almost back to normal again, sure she flinched if someone came up behind her without her knowing and she had some nightmares ending with her walking to Jeremys room and asking if she could sleep there, but otherwise she was fine. Thank god she was good at compartmentalizing in her last life and could still do it now.

Jeremy had become more protective of her and would glare at people he didn’t trust that got to close to her. He also couldn’t decide if he liked Stefan for saving her or if he hated him for being a man close to Jeremys vulnerable sister.

Elena walked into the kitchen to see Jenna cursing at the tv. “Scum ball! Scum Bucket!”

“Who are you talking to?” Elena asked with a giggle.

“Him!” Jenna gestured to the tv were a news reporter was talking about the animal which had been terrorizing Mystic Falls had been caught.

“The news guy?” Elena asked.

“Also known as Logan ‘Scum’ Fell. Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic falls?” Jenna sneered at the tv.

“Oh, no way! You and him?” Elena laughed with a shrug and walked over to a box that was on the floor. “I guess he’s cute, if you go for that sort of guy.”

“There is nothing cute about him!” Jenna declared fiercely. “What are you doing with that?”

“I went and got it from the safety deposit box yesterday. Mom had promised Mrs. Lockwood she would loan it to the founder’s council for their heritage display.” Elena informed her as she looked through the box while quietly thanking Elena for writing it in the calendar to remember it.

“Is that grandma Beth’s wedding ring?” Jenna looked intrigued.

“Originally it was great-great-grandma Mary’s wedding ring.” Elena smiled, glad that she had read as much about the Gilbert history as she could when she had just woken up in this world.

“How much do you think this stuff is worth? You know, like on eBay?” Jeremy joked as he came in.

“Money and not a penny more.” Elena teased back.

“You’re not giving it away, right? This is mom and dad’s stuff.” Jeremy asked uncertainty.

“I'm not giving it away, it’s just a loan to Mrs. Lockwood and should anything be missing when we get it back there shall be hell to pay!” Elena declared with a glare at the wall.

Elena stopped what she was doing when her hand touched a specific piece in the box, she picked it up and walked over to Jeremy.

“Jeremy, dad was supposed to give this to you but he never had the chance. This is a pocket watch passed down from fathers to their first-born son and it is now yours.” Elena said softly and held out a pocket watch to Jeremy.

Jeremy accepted the watch carefully with tears in his eyes and slowly pulled Elena into an emotional hug. “Thank you.” He sniffled in her shoulder.

“I love you, little brother.” Elena murmured as she hugged back just as tightly.

“Love you to, Lena.” Jeremy smiled slightly as he pulled back.

XOXOXOX

Elena was sitting at her window in her room crocheting when her phone started to ring and without thinking she answered “Lena's BDSM Boutique. All of our operators are tied up at the moment, can I take a message you bad, bad boy?” Then she froze in mortification and hastily added, “Please, please, please ignore that!”

At first it was quiet on the other end then a mans voice burst out in belly shaking laughter. Elena checked the caller id and saw that it was Stefan who was calling and she felt even more mortified.

“I’m sorry.” Elena squeaked out.

“I needed that laugh, thank you.” Stefan chuckled as he finally calmed down. “That was epic!”

“I wasn’t really thinking when I answered the phone and said the first thing that popped up in my head.” Elena admitted with an embarrassed giggle.

“That’s completely fine.” Stefan reassured her. “I actually called to ask how you and Caroline was going to do when it comes to the founders party? The Salvatore’s don’t really get invites anymore but I thought I’d ask what you two were going to do.”

“I don’t know, we haven’t really talked about it.” Elena hummed. “Why don’t I call her and we can all talk about it?”

“Sounds good.” Stefan agreed.

As Elena was calling Caroline, she asked Stefan how he was.

“I'm fine, it’s just…” Stefan muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Elena asked concerned.

“I haven’t seen Damon since he gave you breakfast.” Stefan sounded worried, though he was more concerned about what Damon was up to and not if he was okay.

“Hello.” Caroline answered before Elena could say anything else to Stefan.

“Hey Care!” Elena said with a smile. “Me and Stefan, who’s on the other line, wondered what we had planed for the founders party.”

“Hey Stefan, Elena. I was actually just thinking about that. Stefan, how would you feel about having both me and Elena on your arms for the party?” Caroline asked without hesitation. “That way we can all go as friends and don’t have to feel any pressure.”

“That’s a great idea Caroline!” Elena beamed. “If that’s okay for you, of course, Stefan?”

“Two beautiful women on my arms? I'm going to be the envy of every guy there.” Stefan chuckled. “Where should we meet up?”

“How about we get ready at your place, Caroline?” Elena offered. 2Then you can pick both me and Caroline up at the same time, Stefan.”

After hashing out all the details they hung up and Elena went back to her crocheting, determined to always check the caller id from now on.

XOXOXOX

The doorbell rang and Jeremy managed to open it before Elena. When he noticed that it’s Tyler, he tries to close the door in his face.

“I'm here for my mom, I'm supposed to pick up a box of stuff.” Tyler defended his presence as he prevents the door from closing.

“Here it is and please be careful with this.” Elena looked at Tyler seriously as she hands over the box.

“Yeah, be carful with it, dick.” Jeremy sneered at Tyler.

“He’s right, if anything is broken or missing there will be hell to pay!” Elena declared with an raised eyebrow. “Oh, and Tyler?” Elena called out as Tyler turned to leave. “Tell your mom that the pocket watch isn’t among the things.” Then she shuts the door before he could answer.

“What has you so annoyed at him today?” Elena asked kindly with no judgment.

“Did you know that Vicki actually had to ask him to ask her to the founders party?” Jeremy asked with a sigh. “And when I pointed that out to her, she got mad at me.”

“I'm sorry Jeremy.” Elena placed her hand on his shoulder. “Have you decided what you are going to do?”

“I think I’ll give it one more chance and if it doesn’t work…” Jeremy shrugged.

“I will be here if you need me.” Elena kissed his cheek and walked up to her room.

XOXOXOX

The day of the founder’s party Elena, Caroline and Bonnie are in Carolines bedroom getting ready. When Caroline had asked if it was okay if she invited Bonnie to get ready with them even though Bonnie wasn’t going to the party, instead choosing to spend time with her grams, Elena had agreed.

Elena didn’t like the way Bonnie was so quick to judge people and had things against those that were different. She was determined to help Bonnie see the world differently and show her that she didn’t always know best. Elena figured that she couldn’t let a lifelong friendship die without trying to fix it.

“Delicate flower vs. Naughty vixen.” Bonnie looked at the nail polishes in front of her.

“Delicate flower.” Elena said at the same time that Caroline declared, “Naughty vixen.”

All three of them laughed together for the first time in a few months, it felt good.

“Now tell us what’s got you all twitchy.” Elena looked at Bonnie after they had calmed down.

“What if I tell you in the morning? I don’t want to ruin your evening.” Bonnie mumbled.

“Out with it, Bonnie.” Caroline demanded.

“Okay, but this has to go into the vault, because Amanda will kill me if it comes back to Damon that she told someone.” Bonnie started to tell them.

“Amanda? Since when are you two hanging out?” Caroline asked, slightly shocked.

“We have just had coffee a couple of times.” Bonnie defended quickly. “Anyway, back to what I was saying. Apparently, Stefan has a very interesting back story.”

“Uh-huh.” Elena answered skeptically.

“Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend Kathrine?” Bonnie asked slowly.

“Not really.” Elena shrugged. “Caroline?”

“I only know that he had one and that he might be on the rebound.” Caroline replied.

“Well, it turns out that both Damon and Stefan dated her, only she chose Damon.” Bonnie informed them.

“What a bitch! Dating two guys at the same time.” Elena sounded both pissed and disgusted as Caroline nodded in agreement.

“That drove Stefan mad, so he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Kathrine. He filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked and she turned against Damon.” Bonnie told them quickly and loudly as she got annoyed at them.

“That sounds like one person’s side of the story.” Caroline remarked as she held up a yellow dress in front of her. “In this case; Damons.”

“I just wanted you to know.” Bonnie sounded both defensive and offended that they didn’t take her seriously.

As Caroline starts arguing with Bonnie about that Elenas phone rings and this time she remembers to check the caller id.

“Hi Mrs. Lockwood, how can I help you?” Elena asked pleasantly.

“The pocket watch? I told Tyler to tell you it wouldn’t be there.”

“Because it belongs to Jeremy and he decided that he didn’t want to loan it out.”

“Good bye.”

“What was that about?” Bonnie asked, looking at her.

“Just some stuff about a missing pocket watch. What so important about a pocket watch anyway?” Elena sighed and put away her phone, full well knowing why they were so interested in the watch.

XOXOXOX

“Caroline, Elena you both look absolutely smashing!” Mrs. Lockwood greeted them at the door.

Caroline was wearing a pretty, light-yellow sundress with a dark green knitted shawl while Elena was wearing a dark green apron dress with a light-yellow shawl, making it clear that her and Caroline matched.

“Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood.” Caroline smiled brightly. “This is our escort and good friend Stefan.”

“Nice to meet you.” Mrs. Lockwood smiled at them all. “Well, come on in.”

When they walked in they saw all the people milling around and then Caroline started to drag them along to the left.

“Really, you couldn’t even change out of the badge for this?” Caroline asked disappointed as they came up to her mother.

“I'm working, honey.” Liz smiled at her daughter and then she looked at Elena and Stefan. “Elena nice to see you again. And who is this?”

“Mom this is Stefan, Stefan my mom.” Caroline introduced them.

“Elizabeth Forbes, call me Liz.” Liz held out her hand.

“Stefan Salvatore.” Stefan took her hand with a smile.

“Where’s your dad?” Liz asked Caroline quietly.

“Memphis.” Caroline smiled sadly at her mother. “With Steven.”

“Good.” Liz said awkwardly.

“Can we dance?” Caroline asked, turning to Stefan hopefully.

“I'm not a real good dancer but okay.” Stefan started out hesitantly but at Elenas encouraging nod her agreed.

Elena walked over to the room with all the memorabilia and looked at her parents wedding rings. Then she walked over to read the first founder’s party registry just as Caroline and Stefan came back.

“The founding families in Mystic Falls welcome you to the inaugural founder’s council celebration.” Elena read of the registry. “Wow, look. it’s the original guest registry.”

“That’s kind of cool.” Caroline hummed as her and Stefan came closer to Elena.

“Look at all the familiar names; Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood.” Then Elena hesitated slightly, squinting at the registry. “Is that Damon Salvatore? And, Stefan Salvatore?”

“The original Salvatore brothers.” Damon chimed in from behind them and Elena tried to suppress a flinch but didn’t know if she was successful. “Our ancestors. Tragic story actually.”

“We don’t need to bore them with stories of the past.” Stefan said as he moved closer to Elena, having seen the flinch.

“It’s not boring, Stefan.” Caroline piped up, trying to get the attention away from Elena. “I’d love to hear more about your family.”

“Well, I'm bored.” Amanda whined from besides Damon. “And I want to dance but Damon wont dance with me.”

“Mm-mmm.” Damon shrugged noncommittedly.

“Can I juts borrow your date?” Amanda tried to pout attractively but it just made her look constipated. “You wouldn’t mind, would you Elena, Caroline?”

“It’s up to Stefan.” Elena said slowly.

“Well sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer.” Amanda grabbed Stefan by the arm and dragged him away.

“How are you feeling after the other day?” Damon asked quietly, ignoring Caroline completely.

“I'm fine.” Elena declared. “Thank you for helping me.”

“Anytime.” Damon smirked. “The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town. Until the war, there was a battle here…”

“The battle of Willow Creek.” Caroline interrupted, annoyed at being ignored but not blaming Elena for it.

“Right.” Damon agreed.

“We talked about it in history class; Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians in it.” Elena informed him.

“What the history books left out was the people that were killed? They weren’t there by accident.” Damon paused to make it a bit more dramatic. “They were believed to be union sympathizers. So some of the founders on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. The original Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church, and when they went to rescue them, they were shot, murdered in cold blood.”

“That’s horrible!” Caroline gasped.

“Who was in the church that they wanted to save?” Elena asked even though she knew.

“A woman, I guess.” Damon shrugged with his signature smirk firmly in place. “Doesn’t it always come down to the love of a woman?”

“Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this…this…thing between you, but I can’t get in the middle of it, Damon, I refuse.” Elena started to get annoyed. “I hope you two can work it out.”

“I hope so too.” Damon said somnolently.

Elena and Caroline left to find Stefan while Damon looked after them.

“How do you do it?” Caroline asked Elena quietly.

“Do what?” Elena looked at her confused.

“Get guys to like you?” Caroline stared at her. “Didn’t you see the way Damon was looking at you?”

“I'm not doing anything!” Elena declared decisively. “And he was not looking at me.”

“You do know that The Nile is just not a river in Egypt, right?” Caroline snickered.

“Hush you.” Elena giggled. “You go ahead and find Stefan, I need to go to the powder room, I think I got an eyelash in my eye.”

As Elena walks into the powder room she sees Amanda in front of the mirror. “Hi.” She says as she does her best to get the eyelash out of her eye.

“Hey.” Amanda almost sneered as she answered.

When Elena got the lash out of her she looked at Amanda and frowned. “What’s that?”

“Hmm?” Amanda didn’t even look at her until Elena tried to lift her scarf. “Don’t!”

“Oh my god, Amanda, what happened?” Elena asked horrified when she saw the bite mark.

“Nothing, okay?!” Amanda snarled defensively.

“That is not nothing!” Elena declared strongly. “Did someone hurt you?”

“It’s none of your business!” Amanda fumed.

Elena was sad and angry at herself; she had thought she had prevented this when she stopped Damon from getting his claws into Caroline. “Did Damon hurt you?”

“No! Of course not! Just leave me alone.” Amanda demanded. “Okay, Elena?!” Then she walked out.

Elena sat down on the edge of her bed and sent a text to both Stefan and Caroline thanking them for a great evening, then she shut of the light, crawled into bed and fell asleep.

Elena walks over to where Stefan and Caroline are talking and laughing. “Stefan, I think Damon is hurting Amanda.”

“What do you mean?” Stefan turned so she had all of his attention.

“There are bruises all over Amandas body.” Elena told him slowly, she didn’t know why but she felt like there was a need in her to tell him even if she already knew what was going on. “Bite marks and he has her all confused and messed up in the head.”

“You don’t look surprised.” Caroline pointed out as she looked at Stefan.

“Um…I'm handling it.” Stefan stuttered out.

“Handling it?” Caroline demanded. “You should be having him arrested!”

“Caroline, Elena please. I…I don’t expect you guys to understand.” Stefan trailed off.

“I don’t understand anything Stefan, so way don’t you clear it up!” Elena seethed.

“Look, there are things you don’t know, okay.” Stefan tried to explain. “Things I want to tell you but might never be able to. I just need you to trust me.”

“Trust is earned, Stefan, we can’t just magically hand it over.” Caroline scoffed as she grabbed Elenas arm so they could storm off together.

Later that night as Elena made herself ready for bed, she started to wonder why she had had the feeling of having to tell Stefan about Amandas bruises. Were some things just meant to be done a certain way in this world?

She looked at her phone as it vibrated and saw a text from Stefan. _Thank you for an amazing evening and sorry for how it ended._ Elena decided to just send a _Likewise_ back, to show that while she was still annoyed at him, she was still his friend.

Elena put her phone on her nightstand, shut the lights of and crawled into bed, trying to plan for the future as best she could with the information she had.

**A/N: chapter three is now done!**

**I hope you all liked it :)**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	4. Undead to me

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

Elena woke up from a very pleasant dream about laying on a beach in Hawaii and wants to stay in her warm soft bed for the rest of the day, but instead she gets up and walks in to the bathroom with her eyes still mostly closed.

“I’m sorry.” Elena looked up when she heard a voice to see Vicki standing there. “I’m almost done.”

“It’s fine. Take your time.” Elena smiled kindly. “I can go and pick out my clothes for the day while you finish.”

Elena walked back into her room with a half smirk on her lips. ‘Go Jeremy.’ She thought with a chuckle.

Today she felt like wearing pants so she picked out a pair of skinny jeans, grey flats and a grey t-shirt. She matched that with a simple flower necklace and the earrings that went with it and, of course, her usual makeup of mascara and eyeliner.

When she was done, she walked over to Jeremys room and knocked.

“Elena.” Jeremy said as he opened the door with a smile.

“Hoddie?” Elena smiled hopefully, trying not to laugh at Vicki who was doing everything she could to hide under Jeremys covers.

“Of course.” Jeremy laughed and went to his dresser, when he came back over, he handed her a maroon colored hoddie.

“Thanks Jere, you are the best little brother in the world.” Elena kissed his cheek and bounced off but not before she heard Vicki say “Your sister is kinda cool.”

As she came into the kitchen and said good morning to Jenna, she asked. “Are you aware that we have a guest?”

“Uh-huh.” Jenna nodded into her coffee cup.

“Kay then.” Elena shrugged and grabbed an apple.

“He could be a little craftier about it tho.” Jenna smiled wickedly. “At least make an effort to sneak her in and out.”

“I think he’s not actually trying to sneak; he knows that we don’t care if he has a girl over.” Elena said then she smirked. “Now if he had a boy over, I would squeal like a three-year-old on Christmas.”

“Really, Elena?” Jenna raised an amused eyebrow.

“What?!” Elena laughed. “I’ve always wanted a gay best friend. A gay little brother is just ten times more awesome.”

“Oh, and just so you know, I won’t be home for dinner.” Jenna said as if she just remembered it herself.

“You’re not actually going out with Logan?” Elena judged her with a look. “He’s not even that good looking and you can definitely do better.”

“Aww that’s so sweet of you to say.” Jenna smiled at Elena. “And I'm just going out with him to torture him, showing him what he can’t have, you know?”

“Good on you, aunt Jenna.” Elena smirked.

“By the way, have you heard from Stefan?” Jenna asked slowly. “I heard you and Caroline talking on the phone yesterday and his name was mentioned.”

“Not since he left that very vague message three days ago: ‘Hi, um, Elena, I, um, have something I have to do. I’ll, uh, explain in a few days.’” Elena made a hilarious attempt at impersonating Stefan.

“Haven’t you called him?” Jenna wondered.

“Nope and I'm not going to.” Elena declared as she threw away what little was left of her apple.

“And you’re okay with everything?” Jenna looked at her.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Elena asked with a shrug.

“Well if my boyfriend did that, I would be a bit ticked off.” Jenna admitted.

“Stefan is not my boyfriend.” Elena informed her. “We’re just friends.”

“Oh, I thought…” Jenna trailed off uncertainly.

“Why did you think that?” Elena asked. “If I do get a boyfriend, you will be one off the first to know.”

“It’s just in the way he looks at you.” Jenna remarked. “Like you are the most important being in the room.”

“He wanted to go out, but I told him I just wanted to be friends and he accepted that.” Elena smiled and hugged Jenna. “But thanks for caring, aunt Jenna.”

XOXOXOX

Elena, Caroline and Bonnie met up by the school and walked in together while Caroline was being a bit neurotic.

“The sexy suds car wash is tomorrow. The football team and the band have committed.” Caroline explained as they walked. “Well, not all the band, just those who could pull of swim clothes. I want, in your face, sexy! I mean it’s a fund raiser for god’s sake.”

“She’s going to take over the world one day.” Elena said quietly to Bonnie.

“And we shall be her most trusted allies and supporters.” Bonnie nodded in agreement.

“Hey.” Stefan greeted awkwardly as he came up to them.

“Hey.” Bonnie mumbled back and turned to Elena. “You know, I gotta go, be somewhere right now.”

“But…” But Bonnie was gone before Elena could say any more.

“I'm so sorry I haven’t called.” Stefan apologized.

“No worries.” Elena reassured.

“We’re your friends, not your keepers.” Caroline added.

“I was dealing with Damon.” Stefan told them softly.

“And did you…deal with Damon?” Caroline asked.

“Yes.” Stefan nodded. “Yeah.”

Elena burst out laughing and it only got worse when she saw the looks Stefan and Caroline was sending her.

“Sorry, sorry.” Elena chuckled when she had calmed down. “It just sounded like you had spent the last four days burying your brothers’ body.”

At that Caroline thought back at what had been said and started to laugh too and Stefan cracked a smile.

“You two have every right to be upset with me, even if you aren’t, but can I explain it all to you two later? Please.” Stefan begged them.

“Sure, when did you want to talk?” Elena asked as Caroline nodded.

“I gotta be home after school, but The Grill, around four o’clock?” Stefan asked while looking between them.

“Works for me.” Caroline smiled.

“Me too.” Elena nodded.

“Thanks.” Stefan smiled, relived.

“Stefan, where is Damon?” Amanda stormed up to them. “He has some serious apologizing to do!”

“He’s gone Amanda.” Stefan informed her.

“When is he coming back?” Amanda demanded to know.

“He’s not coming back.” Stefan shrugged. “I'm sorry.”

“Ugh!” Amanda threw her hands up and stomped away.

XOXOXOX

The rest of the school day had passed with a bit of a monotonous blur, the only difference from any other day is that history was canceled because they didn’t have a new history teacher yet.

As Caroline and Elena walked in to the grill around four o’clock the noticed Matt and went up to him.

“Hey Matt, um, have you seen Stefan?” Caroline asked as her and Elena stopped besides him.

“Nope, sorry.” Matt shrugged. “But if you two want to kill some time, um, you can rack?”

“Only if I can break.” Elena agreed, smiling slightly. It was an old joke between her and Matt and he chuckled.

“And this morning I ran into Vicki in our bathroom, looking all awkward.” Elena laughingly told Caroline and Matt after they had played for a while.

“Yeah, I'm not going to lie, you brother and my sister, that’s weird.” Matt chuckled a bit in discomfort.

“How late is he?” Elena asked Caroline who just looked at her phone.

“Hitting the hour mark.” Caroline frowned.

“What’s going on?” Matt asked and when Elena hesitated to answer he continued. “You can talk to me, you know? It not like we were best friend or anything.

“It’s just that Stefan is our friend but he’s also so secretive all the time.” Caroline started to explain.

“And we know that everyone deserves their privacy, but at the same time…” Elena trailed of.

“You what? Think he’s a serial killer and he keeps a clown suit in the trunk of his car?” Matt asked as his eyes danced with laughter.

“We’re being a bit paranoid, aren’t we?” Caroline chuckled.

“I think you should just talk to him.” Matt smiled.

“Talk to who?” Stefan said as he came up behind them, then he smiled apologetically at Elenas flinch. “Sorry I'm late.”

“You okay?” Elena asked at the same time Caroline asked. “What happened?”

“I got held up.” Stefan explained. “There was this thing with my uncle.”

“You three have fun.” Matt mumbled awkwardly as he walked away.

“Sorry it was unavoidable.” Stefan defended himself quietly.

“You couldn’t have called, at least, to let us know nothing bad had happened to you?” Caroline huffed in annoyance.

“Stefan you are our friend and we care about you.” Elena said as she looked at him seriously. “And you don’t have to tell us all your secrets but I, and I think Caroline agrees with me, would prefer that you tell me to my face that you don’t want to tell me something instead of coming with non-answers.”

As they were talking an old man came up to them, all the while staring at Stefan in awe. “I know you. My God!”

“I'm sorry?” Stefan looked just as confused as Elena and Caroline.

“I know you.” The old man repeated. “How can it be?”

“I think you think might have the wrong person, sir.” Stefan said politely.

“You haven’t aged a day.” The old man insisted.

“Stefan, could you take me home, please, I don’t feel so good.” Elena pretended to feel woozy. She knew exactly what was going on but if Stefan wasn’t ready to tell her or Caroline about the supernatural world, she wasn’t going to force him.

“Yes, of course.” Stefan seemed very relived as he helped a ‘woozy’ Elena out to her car with Carolines help.

Stefan drove Caroline home first and promised, at her insistence, that if he was going to be late to their meetings in the future to at least text to let them know.

When Stefan and Elena arrived at the Gilbert house, Stefan parked the car and helped Elena out of the car up the porch. He had to ring the doorbell because the door was locked and he didn’t know where Elenas key was.

“Elena?!” Jeremy exclaimed as he opened the door. “What happened?”

“She started to feel dizzy at the grill and asked me to take her home.” Stefan explained as best he could with Elena leaning quite heavily on him.

“Jere.” Elena mumbled and smiled. She was playing it up a bit but felt bad for making Jeremy worry.

“Come in and help me get her to her room.” Jeremy ordered Stefan as he opened the door completely.

As Jeremy and Stefan helped her into bed, she decided that a nap wasn’t such a bad idea and fell asleep while Jeremy and Stefan quietly walked out of her room.

XOXOXOX

Elena woke up and looked at the clock. She noticed that she had been asleep for around two hours and decided to get up and see if Jenna was home yet.

“Jenna, you home?” She called as she heard sounds coming from the kitchen and was slightly shocked at what she saw. “Stefan?”

“Hey Lena, you feeling better?” Jeremy asked as he came back into the kitchen and hugged her.

“Yeah, I just think I hadn't had enough to drink today.” Elena explained as she hugged him back, still confused. “What’s going on?”

“I was worried about you so I offered to make dinner and Jeremy told me that one of your favorites are Chicken Parmesan.” Stefan explained while he cooked. “And I happen to be a good cook, the Italian roots demands it. I can even make my own homemade mozzarella but tonight it, unfortunately, have to be store brought.”

“I offered to help as I had nothing better to do.” Jeremy smiled.

“You’re not going to hang out with Vicki?” Elena teased her brother.

“You are more important.” Jeremy nudged her shoulder, then he smiled sadly. “It feels like the only thing Vicki wants is to get high.”

“I love you, Jere.” Elena murmured quietly to Jeremy, knowing full well that Stefan heard her but the illusion of privacy was nice.

“Getting your heart broken is never easy.” Stefan said to Jeremy pretending to not have heard Elenas whisper to her brother.

“You’ve had your heart broken?” Jeremy asked, curious.

“Oh, yeah.” Stefan nodded. “Her name was Kathrine and she was…the most beautiful girl I had ever met.” Stefan got a faraway look in his eyes. “She had this perfect olive skin and she had this laugh; it was ridiculous. I mean, her laugh made you laugh and she was fun, knew how to have a good time.”

“So, what happened?” Jeremy asked as Stefan trailed off.

“Kathrine was also very impatient, entitled and selfish and, um, impulsive. Enter Damon.” Stefan hummed. “He claims he was with her first, but I don’t think either of us know for sure. What I do know is that I did some things that…I'm not proud of. And my biggest regret is not being able to make it right before she died. I miss her, but…I'm no longer crippled by her loss.”

“So even if I get my heart broken by Vicki, I'm not going to be sad forever?” Jeremy asked uncertainly.

“Exactly.” Stefan smiled at him.

“Thank you for telling us.” Elena smiled.

“So, can you tell us something more about yourself?” Jeremy smirked, knowing that at school Stefan was the mysterious new kid that no one knew anything about.

“Hmm, let’s see.” Stefan looked thoughtful then he shrugged. “I like music.”

“What sort of music?” Elena asked while she stepped up to wash her hands so she could help with dinner.

“Um, Dylan, Hendrix, Pasty, Willie, a little Kanye.” Stefan listed of and smirked. “You know what? I even like that one Miley song. No hate!” He pointed the spoon he was using to stir at Elena.

“I didn’t say anything.” Elena laughed and Jeremy chuckled.

“Elena doesn’t really have room to talk, she listens to everything.” Jeremy informed Stefan with a laugh.

“I don’t listen to everything!” Elena denied and at Jeremys look she continued. “I don’t! I refuse to listen to sort of music that has like no context just a lot of annoying sounds that you can’t make sense of.”

They could all agree to that and then Elena went over to the cutting board. “Is this for the garlic bread?” She asked and indicated to the garlic on the board.

“Yeah, freshly baked garlic bread is a must for pasta dishes.” Stefan nodded decisively, he smiled sheepishly and added. “I might have a slight obsession with garlic, please don’t tell anyone.”

“Your secret is safe with us.” Jeremy laughed.

“Ow!” Elena exclaimed loudly as she accidentally cut herself.

“You okay?” Stefan asked as Jeremy hurried over to her.

“Yeah, it’s just a small cut.” Elena grabbed the paper towel that Jeremy was holding out to her and looked up at Stefans reflection in the window. She barely held in a shocked gasp, she knew he was a vampire and that his face changed but knowing and seeing are two different things.

“You okay there, Stefan?” Jeremy raised a questioning eyebrow.

“He has this thing against blood.” Elena said with a teasing lilt to her voice, saving Stefan from having to come up with a lie.

The rest of the evening was a success and the food were amazing. After they eaten and Stefan had gone home Jeremy and Elena decided to watch movies curled up together on the couch.

That was were Jenna found her niece and nephew sleeping when she got home from her date. She smiled at the display, discreetly took a photo with her phone and then put a blanket over the sleeping forms.

XOXOXOX

The next day Elena was listening as Caroline, who was in a light pink frilly bikini top and jean shorts, laid down the law on the whole sexy suds’ car wash thing.

“No friend discounts. No freebies. No pay ya laters.” Caroline looked like a dictator ordering her minions around. “We are NOT running a charity here!”

“No, we are not.” Elena nodded seriously. She was wearing dark red bikini and a tiny black skirt which had gotten Carolines nod of approval.

“Stefan!” Caroline called out disappointed as she saw him approach them.

“Caroline!” Stefan called back with a chuckle.

“The event is called ‘sexy’ suds, you know.” Caroline scolded him. “Drop the clothes.”

“Did I just get judged?” Stefan asked Elena with a laugh.

“Oh yes, you did!” Elena giggled.

“I guess I better do what the general want.” Stefan started to take of his clothes, when he was down to just his pants and shoes, he was getting a lot of looks from the girls and even some from the boys.

“Did you get roped into this by Caroline or Elena?” A half-naked Jeremy asked as he walked up to them.

“Caroline.” Stefan admitted. “You?”

“You should be warned that my sister is evil.” Jeremy answered with a smirk, managing to duck the hit aimed at the back of his head by Elena.

“Looking good Jeremy.” Tiki gave Jeremy a slow up and down look.

“You don’t.” Jeremy dismissed her entirely as he started to help Elena and Stefan wash a car.

“Harsh.” Stefan commented as Tiki huffed and walked away.

“She’s a self-centered bully.” Jeremy told him, then he frowned and nodded towards Stefans ring. “Aren’t you worried about getting soap on that?”

“No, it’s fine.” Stefan reassured.

“Doesn’t Damon have one to?” Elena asked. “Is there a story behind it?”

“Yeah, it’s the family crest from the Italian renaissance.” Stefan fingered the ring absentmindedly.

“What sort of stone is that?” Jeremy asked as he looked at the ring.

“It’s called lapis lazuli.” Stefan smiled slightly, like he knew something they didn’t, which he undoubtedly did.

“Shit, we’re out of towels.” Elena groaned as she noticed. “I’ll go ask Caroline for more.”

“Hey Caroline.” Elena greeted as she made her way to the money table where Caroline and Amanda where sitting. “We’re out of towels and those shimmy things.”

“I’ll go get some.” Amanda walked off, she had refused to talk or even be near Elena since the founder’s party.

“Mind the money for me, I need to go to the bathroom?” Caroline asked and got up.

“Don’t fall in.” Elena chuckled.

“You’re the girl from the grill.” A male vice spoke from above her.

“Huh?” Elena looked up and saw the old man from last night, the one who knew Stefan.

“You were with the young man that I thought I knew.” The old man explained.

“You mean Stefan Salvatore?” The question slipped out before Elena could stop it.

“It can’t be.” The old man murmured.

“Why not?” Elena inquired.

“Because the last time I saw him was when I first oved here and I stayed at the Salvatore boarding house.” The old man told her. “Stefan was just passing through to visit his uncle.”

“You mean Zach?” Elena asked.

“No, Joseph.” The old man hummed. “But it can’t be the same man, that was in June 1953.”

After Tiki had come to lead her grandfather away and Caroline finally came back from the bathroom, Elena made her way back to Stefan and Jeremy.

“Caroline finally released you, huh?” Stefan asked with a laugh.

“Yeah.” Elena chuckled, then when she saw Jenna, she made her way over to her with Jeremy following.

“Your car was done an hour ago.” Elena smirked at her aunt.

“You are saying that out loud, why?” Jenna mocked glared at her nice.

“Hi, Elena, right?” Logan looked at her. “I think I met you once when you were 9.”

“Did you?” Elena hummed uninterested then she looked him I the eyes seriously and hissed. “If you hurt my aunt; I will fuck you up.”

“And I’ll help.” Jeremy declared. “And before you ask, no we are not threatening you; we are just making a promise.”

Then Jeremy and Elena walked off arm in arm leaving their aunt with Logan. As they walked away Elena wondered if Logan still managed to get invited to dinner at their place by Jenna.

“Hey Jeremy,” Elena hummed in thought, not wanting to be home if Logan was going to be there. “How about a brother/sister dinner at the grill, just you and me?”

“I’d like that.” Jeremy smiled brightly.

After they got permission to leave early from the general, eh…Caroline, they made their way to the grill and ordered their food.

“So, how are things with Vicki?” Elena asked as she put a fry in her mouth.

“We are not together anymore and we won’t ever be again.” Jeremy shrugged sadly.

“I know you said that it always felt like she only wanted to get high when you two were together but what actually happened?” Elena wondered.

“I caught Vicki trying to steal your pain medication from the car crash.” Jeremy informed her. “And I just felt done.”

“I'm sorry.” Elena murmured softly.

“Thanks.” Jeremy hummed. “Let’s talk about you instead.”

“What do you want to know?” Elena laughed.

“Well I know you aren’t dating Stefan, even though he really wants to, but do you have your eye on anyone?” Jeremy wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“So basically, you want me to talk guys with you?” Elena giggled. “Are you thinking of trying something new?”

“Don’t answer my question with another question.” Jeremy demanded, not answering her.

“After everything that’s happened, I feel different and all the boys in school are just that, boys.” Elena dipped her fries in her milkshake. “They feel so immature.”

“Aha so you want an older man.” Jeremy laughed and spent the rest of the dinner teasing his sister.

After dinner Elena allowed Jeremy to drive and asked if he could drop her of at the Salvatore boarding house. She decided that it was time to confront Stefan about what he was, hopefully it would go well.

Jeremy dropped her off and she walked up to the door of the boarding house and was about to knock when Stefan opened the door holding a stake.

“I know what you are.” Elena blurted out quickly. ‘Shit that was not how she was going to do it’, she thought as she looked into Stefans shocked eyes.

**A/N: chapter four is now done!**

**I hope you all liked it :)**

**And now an important question: do you want some specific scene to be from Damons or Stefans perspective? Or do you guys like it when it’s just from Elenas perspective?**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	5. Lost Haunted Girls

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

**And my computer crashed and I lost all the work I had done on my fanfictions. On just this story I had already written around 9, NINE! Chapters that all just went poof :(**

**So, it might take me some time between updates, I'm sorry :C**

“What?” Stefan asked, shocked.

“I know what you are.” Elena repeated then she frowned. “Did I just sound like Bella Swan?”

“How?” Stefan looked at her.

“Little things that when put together just made sense and of course the old man from the grill yesterday came to talk to me.” Elena shrugged.

“And you’re not scared of me?” Stefan asked hopefully.

“Should I be?” Elena looked at him seriously.

“NO!” Stefan exclaimed. “I would never hurt you.”

“Then the only thing I'm going to say is that all those so-called animal attacks.” Elena raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. “You could have been a bit more discreet.”

“Those animal attacks were Damon’s doing.” Stefan defended himself. “I don’t drink human blood.”

“Then can you tell him to be a little more discreet?” Elena smiled at him. “And what do you drink then, if not human blood?”

“You don’t care that he’s killed people?” Stefan couldn’t really wrap his head around that. “And I choose to survive by drinking animal blood.”

“Not really, no.” Elena shrugged. “He has to eat, doesn’t he? I can go around judging him or you based on human laws and rules, because you aren’t human, it wouldn’t be fair.”

“You can’t tell anyone about this.” Stefan half begged half told her.

“If I feel it would be safer for Jeremy, aunt Jenna and Caroline to know about vampires, I will tell them, but I promise to tell you if I do choose to tell them.” Elena smiled the she realized she had met him at the door and turned to walk out. “Oh, sorry, you were on your way somewhere.”

Stefan vamp-sped in front of her before she could get in her car. “Can we meet up for breakfast tomorrow? I can tell you everything then.”

“First of; that was really cool.” Elena looked at him with big eyes, sparkling with happiness and wonder. “Second; yeah sure, breakfast sounds good, but you are paying.”

Stefan smiled in wonder at her. “Sure, I’ll pay.”

XOXOXOX

Elena and Stefan were sitting at the coffee place, Elena having ordered a hot chocolate and a freshly baked cupcake while Stefan only ordered regular black coffee.

“So, you said you would explain everything.” Elena looked at Stefan as they waited for their order. “When you google ‘vampires’ you get a world of fiction. What’s the reality?”

“Ask away about what you want to know and I’ll answer what I can.” Stefan smiled in encouragement.

“Well, I know you eat garlic.” Elena smirked. “And sunlight’s not an issue, obviously.”

“Hi, here are your drinks and your cupcake.” A waitress put down their order and smiled when Elena thanked her for it.

“We have rings or other jewelry to protect us, spelled by a witch.” Stefan said as soon as the waitress was gone.

“Crucifixes and holy ground?” Elena took a slow sip of her hot chocolate.

“Decorative and we did meet in a graveyard.” Stefan reminded her with a smile.

“Oh right.” Elena blushed. “Holy water?”

“Drinkable.” Stefan looked shocked at the groan Elena gave.

“That’s just great.” Elena groaned. “That is one great vampire joke that won’t work anymore.”

“Vampire joke?” Stefan asked.

“The joke goes: You always hear about vampires in Europe but never in Africa, but then I remember why, they blessed the rains down in Africa.” Elena giggled at the bad joke. “Anyway, mirrors?”

“That’s a myth.” Stefan chuckled at the vampire joke but didn’t mention it. “I don’t really know where that came from actually.”

“So, you drink animal blood?” Elena smirked at him. “You’re a vegetarian?”

“Huh?” Stefan shook his head. “Animal blood keeps me alive, but not as strong as Damon. He can be very powerful.”

“You haven’t read Twilight, huh?” Elena asked, then she looked at him curious. “Why did Damon hurt Amanda?”

“He was feeding on her.” Stefan explained. “He was able to take away her memories of ever being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have.”

“Huh, so you don’t have to kill when you feed.” Elena hummed to herself, not noticing the way Stefan shifted uncomfortably. “Are there any other vampires in Mystic Falls, beside you and Damon?”

“Not anymore.” Stefan shrugged. “There was a time when this town was…very much aware of vampires, and it didn’t end well for anybody.”

“Okay, it’s not like I'm going to run around screaming ‘Vampire!’ if that is what you are worried about.” Elena reassured him. “But as I said yesterday, if I feel that my family is safer by knowing? I won’t hesitate to tell them.”

“Can I show you something?” Stefan asked slowly and when Elena agreed they went to her car.

XOXOXOX

Elena had been driving through the woods for a while when Stefan told her to stop in the middle of nowhere. “What are we doing here?”

“I want to show you something.” Stefan got out of the car and Elena followed.

“This almost feels like the beginning of a horror movie and either you are a serial killer and I'm about to die or an axe murderer is going to come out of nowhere and kill us both.” Elena chuckled.

Stefan laughed, knowing she wasn’t scared of him and that just made him fall for her more. “This used to be my home.”

“It looks very…nature inspired?” Elena giggled.

“Yeah, nature has taken over this place after all these years.” Stefan smiled at her.

“How long have you…?” Elena trailed of, not wanting to be rude.

“I’ve been 17 years old since 1864.” Stefan told her.

“Well, now I know what I'm getting you for Christmas.” Elena said and at Stefan look she continued. “A walker and a cane, old man.”

“Thanks.” Stefan laughed. “I said I was going to tell you everything and I'm not holding anything back. Half a century before the boarding house was even built, this was my family’s home. Damon and I… We were both born here, the Salvatore brothers, best friends.”

Elena could almost see the flash back from the show in her head, it was kind of weird.

“So, your ex, Kathrine, was from your human life?” Elena asked. “Damon made it seem like it was very resent.”

“Damon was trying to make you think that I was still heartbroken.” Stefan explained. “He thought we were dating and that I was happy with you and he wanted to ruin it.”

“Just because you loved the same woman 145 years ago?” Elena looked incredulous.

“She wasn’t just any girl.” Stefan sighed and continued with his story. “In the end she chose me. I escorted her to the ball at the original Lockwood mansion.”

“Where you signed the registry.” Elena nodded.

“I didn’t care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted.” Stefan looked ashamed. “I didn’t even care if I hurt him, I only knew that I wanted her.”

“So, he was upset.” Elena nodded in understanding.

“That’s the thing about Damon.” Stefan sighed again. “He doesn’t get mad; he just gets even. What Damon wants; Damon usually gets. I didn’t know it at the time, but…turns out that night…Katrine was with him too.”

“Trollop!” Elena hissed.

Stefan softly continued telling her his story, “She could control my mind, and Damon’s. she compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. She wanted all of us to be together, forever.”

“Kinky.” Elena muttered, at Stefan’s look she smiled. “Sorry.”

“Didn’t work out that way, but… Damon and I, looks like we’re stuck with each other… like it or not.” Stefan shrugged sadly and bent down to pull something out of an old ruin.

“Is that Damon’s ring?” Elena asked while tilting her head to the side.

“I took it from him, but I have to give it back.” Stefan stood back up again.

“Why did you take it in the first place?” Elena wanted to know.

“Because I didn’t want him to kill more people if he ever got out.” Stefan explained softly.

“Stefan, you and Damon are vampires.” Elena looked at Stefan seriously. “That means that humans are your food source just like animals are the food source for humans.”

“I need to give it back anyway.” Stefan said ignoring most, if not all, of Elena just said. “If I don’t, he’ll retaliate in the only way he knows he can hurt me.”

“And how is that?” Elena murmured.

“By hurting you.” Stefan looked at her.

“Stefan…” Elena sighed sadly.

“I know and I respect that you don’t feel the same about me.” Stefan reassured. “But you are such an amazing person that I can’t just not love you. And I promise that I won’t force my feelings on you and I hope we can keep being friends.”

“Of course, we’re going to keep being friends, you numpty.” Elena punched him lightly in the shoulder, then to change the, ~~uncomfortable~~ , subject she asked. “The mind control thing that you said Kathrine used, have you ever done that to me?”

“No. The necklace I gave Caroline and the armband I gave you contains an herb called vervain.” Stefan nodded towards her armband. “It protects you from being compelled. I wanted to protect you from Damon’s influence, but I also wanted to protect you from me. Don’t take it off and you’ll know that you were free to make your own choice.”

“Thank you.” Elena smiled at him and started to walk towards the car. “Let’s go home, it’s getting late.”

XOXOXOX

The first thing Elena heard when she walked through the door to her house was Matt saying. “Damn, Vicki.”

“What’s going on?” She asked as she walked into the kitchen where Jeremy, Vicki and Matt were.

“She’s really messed up.” Matt told Elena and Stefan.

“Elena, back up.” Stefan moved forward and grabbed Vicki’s face. “Vicki, look at me, focus. You’re going to be fine, everything is going to be fine.” Then Stefan turned towards Jeremy and Matt. “Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds, she’s gonna be okay.”

“You know what’s wrong with her.” Elena said when Jeremy and Matt were gone.

“She’s in transition.” Stefan told her softly.

“Vampire?” Elena asked quietly.

“Damon must have gotten to her.” Stefan explained. “She’s new. She hasn’t completed her transformation yet.”

“And how does she do that?” Elena wanted to know.

“She has to feed on human blood.” Stefan looked at her.

“And if she doesn’t?” Elena sighed.

“She’ll die.” Stefan huffed sadly, running a hand through his hair. “She may only have a few hours.”

“Is Jeremy and Matt safe with her?” Elena challenged, because if he had sent her little brother up there and he was in danger there would be hell to pay.

“It’s okay.” Stefan reassured. “She doesn’t know what’s happening to her yet. Right now, she doesn’t remember anything, a part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she’ll know she has to make a choice.”

“Then go up there and tell her and if she wants to complete the transition, she can have some of my blood.” Elena declared, but before she or Stefan could move Vicki rushed out of the front door and disappeared with Matt hot on her heels.

“I can track her.” Stefan murmured quietly to Elena and she nodded for him to go.

“Come on Jeremy, let’s go inside and wait if Vicki decides to come back.” Elena grabbed her little brothers’ arm.

Jeremy and Elena had been sitting at the dinner table waiting for news for a while when Elena smiled at her brother. “Jeremy why don’t you go up and try calling Vicki, she might not want to answer her brother but she might want to talk to you.”

Elena was about to follow her brother upstairs when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to see Damon standing there.

“By the way you are looking at me, I guess Stefan finally fessed up.” Damon smirked, then he frowned and said quietly to himself. “But you are not scared of me.”

“Yeah he did.” Elena nodded. “And I have only two things to say about that; next time you go on a feeding spree, be a bit more discreet and as long as you don’t hurt my family or closest friends, I don’t really care who you eat or kill.”

“Wait, so you don’t have a problem with me killing people, but that I wasn’t discreet enough?” Damon asked with an adorable confused look on his face.

“Basically, yeah.” Elena smiled. “As I told Stefan; you’re a vampire, killing people is what you do.”

“Well then, I promise to be more discreet next time I kill some people.” Damon smirked at her. “Is Stefan here?”

“Nope, he’s out searching for Vicki.” Elena looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s with the look?” Damon asked. “Girl’s going to thank me for what I did to her.”

“Did you thank Kathrine?” Elena asked softly and then continued. “And did you really have to turn Vicki, of all people?”

“Eh, I was bored.” Damon shrugged with a half smirk.

“Okay then.” As Elena laughed, she didn’t see the adorably confused look Damon was giving her.

“Tell my brother I'm looking for him.” Damon told her as he turned to leave. “Oh, and a tip for later, be careful who you invite in the house.”

A couple of hours later Elena stood at the stairs up to her house waiting on Stefan who had recently called to tell her he was on his way back. As Stefan came walking up to her, she gasped. “You’re bleeding!”

“No, no it’s okay, it’s already healed.” Stefan smiled at her concern, then he turned sad. “I couldn’t stop her, I tried.”

“So, Vicki Donovan is a vampire, huh.” Elena mumbled.

“I’ll take care of it; I’ll find her and I will show her that she can live like I do.” Stefan told her softly. “I will make sure that she does not hurt anybody, Elena, I promise.”

“Hmmm.” Elena hummed noncommittedly, thinking that she really needed to have a talk with Stefan about the whole ‘She doesn’t really care about who dies as long as it’s not her family or close friends’ thing. That might make her selfish or something but whatever, if she started to care about everybody then she would just give herself a gastric ulcer or something.

“I need to go to sleep, this day has been a lot.” Elena smiled. “But I’ll come over tomorrow to talk.”

“Good night, Elena.” Stefan smiled at her and walked away.

Elena walked into the house and really didn’t feel like being alone so she made her way to Jeremys room and crawled into his bed.

“You okay, Lena?” Jeremy asked in a sleep addled voice.

“Yeah, just didn’t want to be alone.” Elena murmured back.

Jeremy tightened his arms around her and kissed her head as they both fell asleep after a very emotional day.

XOXOXOX

The next morning when she woke up, Elena gently detangled herself from her brother and made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. After her short, but relaxing, shower she walked into her room and over to the closet.

She choose to were white, skinny jeans, a black, three quarter sleeved, off the shoulder crop top, black ankle booths and one of Jeremys flannel shirts. Today she decided to forgo makeup and jewelry, except that vervain armband that Stefan had given her.

Around fifteen minutes later, Elena walked in to the kitchen she saw Jenna sitting at the kitchen island and drinking coffee. Elena smiled brightly at her, “Good Morning.”

“There is nothing ‘good’ about this morning.” Jenna grumbled into her mug.

“Okay?” Elena chuckled.

“I have a test in like three hours and I spent most of my night studying and I'm probably going to either fall asleep during the test or I'm going to fail.” Jenna moaned as she put her head on the table.

“You’re going to do grate!” Elena beamed. “You are not going to fall asleep and when you get home, I promise that you can fall into bed and not get up until tomorrow. Isn’t that right Jeremy?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Jeremy, who had just walked into the kitchen, agreed whole heartedly, then he whispered to Elena. “What did I just agree to?”

“That she would do well on her test today.” Elena whispered back, then louder she asked Jeremy. “Why are you up so early?”

“Oh, I'm going to the police station, they’re organizing a search party for Vicki.” Jeremy explained.

“I will agree to you skipping school today, Jeremy.” Jenna smiled at him. “But you have to go tomorrow, okay?”

“Aunt Jenna?” Jeremy asked slowly and at Jenna's nod he beamed at her and said, “You’re awesome.”

“I know.” Jenna smirked. “Well, I should get going so I don’t have to stress on the way to the test.”

“Good luck!” Elena and Jeremy chorused.

XOXOXOX

After breakfast Elena made her way to the boarding house to see how Vicki was doing. She rang the doorbell and smiled at Damon who opened the door.

“Is Stefan here?” Elena asked.

“Good morning to you to Miss. ‘I'm on a mission’.” Damon smirked at her.

“Oh sorry. Good morning Mr. ‘Arrogant and glib’.” Elena sassed back with a smirk.

“You are either brave or stupid for calling a vampire arrogant and glib.” Damon chuckled.

“Eh…” Elena shrugged and giggled. “It’s probably a bit of both to be honest.”

“You really aren’t scared of me.” Damon looked adorably confused again.

“Damon, you are a vampire, if you wanted me dead, I would be dead.” Elena smiled kindly at him.

“Yes.” Damon was back to smirking.

“Where is Stefan?” Elena asked.

“He’s somewhere around here singing ‘The rain in Spain’.” Damon gestured for her to come in. “Knock yourself out.”

“Stefan?” Elena called out as she closed the door and walked down the hall.

“In here!” Stefan called from the kitchen.

“Hi.” Elena smiled as she sat down at the kitchen table with Stefan.

“Hey.” Stefan smiled back.

“Where’s Vicki?” Elena asked slowly.

“She’s upstairs.” Stefan told her. “I'm working with her but it’s going to take time. She's a very volatile and impulsive personality and she’s a drug user, I mean, all that’s going to play part in how she responds to this.”

“So, she’s a vampire with issues?” Elena sighed, this was going to be oh so fun, note the sarcasm. “I'm thinking about telling Jeremy about vampires, I think he might be able to help Vicki. But he won’t be allowed near her before she has complete control and there is no chance of her hurting him.”

“I'm going to keep her here with me until I know that she’s safe.” Stefan reassured her.

“And how long is that?” Elena wondered.

“Yeah, how long is that?” Vicki piped up from where she entered.

“Hey Vicki, how’s unlife treating you?” Elena asked and wanted to slap herself, that was such a stupid question.

“You’re kidding right?” Vicki just looked at her.

Luckily for Elena her phone rang and she hurried to answer as she walked out of the room.

“Hey Caroline.”

“Do you have a costume for tonight?” Caroline asked.

“Huh? Oh, crap!” Elena groaned. “I totally forgot about that.”

“Well, lucky for you I didn’t.” Caroline laughed. “I got you a costume and I left it at your house.”

“Caroline, you are a goddess among mortals.” Elena breathed out.

“I love you too.” Caroline giggled and hung up the phone.

Elena made her way back into the kitchen just as Stefan was telling Vicki about coffee. “Coffee is our friend, it’s the caffeine. It circulates through our veins and it warms our body so we’re not so cold to the touch.”

“What if I want to drink human blood?” Vicki asked with a pout.

“You’re going to learn to live with that urge and fight it on a daily basis, one day at a time.” Stefan said it like they had had this conversation before.

Elena snorted and when the vampires looked at her she started to laugh. “Sorry Stefan but you just sounded like a 12 steps pamphlet thing.”

“She's right and not to burst your bubble or anything but that shit doesn’t work on me.” Vicki chuckled.

“It can work.” Stefan said with a pleading edge to his voice. “It’s your choice, Vicki.”

Elena tuned out for a while, trying to remember what was going to happen, but it was all foggy and distant. It was like some things she didn’t know she knew until they had already happened and then it was like she had known all along.

Elena was brought back by Stefan telling her that he was going to get more blood. “I’ll be quick.”

“False alarm.” Vicki walked back into the room a few minutes after Stefan had left. “My body’s feeling really funky. It’s a good sort of funk but still funky.”

“Who are you calling?” Elena asked when she saw Vicki pull out her phone.

“Jeremy.” Vicki hummed with a smile.

“Could you wait to do that?” Elena asked slowly. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Talk quickly.” Vicki growled at her with a glare.

“I just want you to wait to see Jeremy until you have more control and I've had the chance to tell him about vampires.” Elena explained kindly, trying to calm Vicki down, sadly it didn’t work.

“Or what?” Vicki grabbed Elena by the throat and pushed her up against a wall. “Let’s get one thing straight, if I want to see Jeremy, I’ll see Jeremy, because I have some new toys to play with and I won’t think twice about ripping your pretty little throat out!”

“Vi…” Elena tried to say something but the hand around her throat was to tight and her lips were turning blue.

“You got it?!” Vicki squeezed hard one last time and then she was gone.

Elena ended up falling to the floor coughing and trying to breath.

“Elena!” Stefan ran over to her looking worried.

“I'm fine.” Elena tried to say but it came out as a weak croak. What she didn’t know was that she had a dark hand shaped bruise on her neck and one of the blood vessels in her right eye had popped. “She threatened me.”

“She's on edge. Imagine every sense in your body operating at super speed.” Stefan gently helped her to a chair. “I mean she’s uncomfortable in her own skin and then when you throw in her other issues…”

“How long before it settles?” Elena croaked out and flinched in pain. “Hours? Days? Weeks?”

“Here.” Stefan bit into his wrist and offered it to her, when she hesitated, he smiled reassuringly. “It will heal you’re throat.”

“Thank you.” Elena smiled at him in relief when she pulled back from his wrist and felt her throat heal.

“You’re welcome.” Stefan smiled back. “And to answer your question, there’s no rule book.”

“How long did it take for you?” Elena asked kindly.

“A while.” Stefan admitted. “But I didn’t have anybody helping me, I had to do it on my own. The thing is it’s harder to resist certain people, especially when your new. It’s difficult to separate your feelings, love, lust, anger, desire…it all blur into one urge, hunger.”

“So, because of her feelings for Jeremy, she’s most likely to go after him?” Elena asked, worried about her brother.

“I'm not gonna let him or anyone get hurt.” Stefan swore to her.

“Okay.” Elena gave a small smile. “Anyway, I need to get home so I can get ready for the Halloween party.”

“Are we okay?” Stefan asked.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t we be?” Elena reassured him and patted his shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later.”

XOXOXOX

Elena walked into Jeremys room after she got out of the shower, having decided to take one as soon as she got back from the boarding house.

“…just call me please.” Jeremy said into the phone and hung up.

“You okay?” Elena asked softly.

“Yeah, it’s just…” Jeremy sighed. “I am never getting back together with Vicki because I don’t have those feelings for her, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about her and now she’s missing.”

“Want to go to the Halloween party with me at the school to get your mind on other things?” Elena asked hopefully.

“Sure, but I don’t really have anything to wear.” Jeremy shrugged with a smile.

“I can fix that.” Elena beamed brightly at him. “You just go take a shower and come to my room when you’re done.”

“Okay.” Jeremy chuckled at his sister’s enthusiasm and watched as she basically jumped into his closet to try and find something for him to wear.

When Jeremy had been in the shower for around fifteen minutes Elena knocked on the door and called out to him. “Don’t put on any clothes, just use a towel.”

“I am not going to this thing in a towel.” Jeremy deadpanned ten minutes later as he stepped out of the bathroom into Elenas room.

“Of course not!” Elena laughed as she fixed the last of her Halloween costume. She needed to remember to thank Caroline for this, Elena thought as she buckled the last strap of her Laura Croft outfit.

“Then why couldn’t I at least have put on underwear?” Jeremy groaned and then when he saw what she was wearing decided quietly to himself to punch anyone if they looked at her for too long.

“Because I don’t think you’re going to be able to fit anything under these pants.” Elena held up a pair of black skinny jeans. “So, you’ll have to go commando.”

“I’ll just go change into those in the bathroom then.” Jeremy sighed in defeat, knowing it was no use in arguing when Lena got that look in her eyes.

“Put this on to.” Elena threw a black, long sleeved net shirt at him.

Elena had just fixed the finishing touches on her makeup when Jeremy came out of the bathroom.

“You look great.” Elena smiled at him.

“Some parts of me are feeling very squished right now.” Jeremy confessed.

“Suck it up. It’s only for one night.” Elena laughed. “Now come over here so I can put some eyeliner and mascara on you.”

“What am I dressed as, anyway?” Jeremy asked as he sat down in front of Elena.

“A Rockstar, duh.” Elena giggled.

“Right, of course.” Jeremy said sarcastically.

XOXOXOX

As Elena and Jeremy arrived at the Halloween party, Jeremy scared some kids and Elena laughed.

“I knew you would look epic as Laura Croft.” Caroline beamed as she and Bonnie walked up to the Gilbert siblings.

“You both look awesome to.” Elena smiled.

“You want anything to drink?” Jeremy asked Elena at her nodded he turned and asked Caroline and Bonnie.

“No thanks.” Caroline told him while Bonnie only shook her head.

“I’ll be right back.” Jeremy nudged Elena with his shoulder as he walked away.

“When did Jeremy get so hot?” Caroline watched as the muscles played in Jeremys back as he walked off.

“Caroline!” Elena looked at her wide eyed.

“What?!” Caroline laughed. “Calm down, I'm only messing with you. Sort of…”

They stood talking for a while, just like old times, but then Elena started to get worried when Jeremy didn’t come back.

“I’m gonna go look for Jere.” Elena told them with a smile, hiding her worry like an expert.

“Elena.” Matt said as he bumped into her.

“Hey Matt.” Elena smiled back. “You haven’t seen Jeremy, have you?”

“No, I haven’t but I seem to have lost my sister too.” Matt looked around the room.

“Vicki is here?” Elena asked.

“Yeah, you can’t miss her.” Matt told her. “She's dressed as a vampire.”

“Good luck finding her.” Elena walked away with a snort. A vampire, really?

“Stefan!” Elena called out twenty minutes later as she come upon Stefan and Matt arguing. “Have you seen Jeremy?”

“No, sorry.” Stefan smiled slightly at her.

“And it seems Vicki managed to slip away when we were talking.” Matt groaned and stomped off.

“Shit.” Stefan hissed and they split up to find Vicki and Jeremy.

“Vicki, no!” Elena screamed as she finally finds Jeremy and sees him being attacked by Vicki.

When Vicki doesn’t stop, Elena hits her with a wooden plank. Vicki turned around quickly and grabbed Elena by the throat, and with emotionless eyes, threw her into a pile of garbage nearby.

“Elena!” Jeremy runs to his sister as Stefan appeared and held Vicki against the bus.

“Go, get inside!” Stefan ordered them as Vicki managed to get lose.

Jeremy helped Elena make her way to the door, blood running down a wound on her arm. Out of nowhere Vicki shoved Jeremy out of the way and bit into Elenas neck.

“Aah.” Elena hissed in shock.

Then it’s over. Stefan had stabbed Vicki with a broken piece of wood and she started to turn gray and desiccate. Jeremy and Elena sank down beside Vicki’s body and cry. The emotions of the day finally catching up to them.

“I need your help.” Stefan said into his phone and hung up.

“You two should go home, we’ve got this.” Damon said kindly to Elena when he arrived.

“Come on Jeremy.” Elena grabbed his arm. “I’ll tell you what's going on when we get home.”

“Wait, here.” Stefan bit his wrist and offered it to her.

“I'm not gonna become your thrall or anything like that right?” Elena asked with a small smile.

“No, it will only heal you.” Stefan reassured and she accepted his wrist.

Later when Elena and Jeremy had finally managed to get home, Elena tells him everything about vampires and what has been going on.

“So, Damon and Stefan are vampires?” Jeremy hummed and at Elenas nod he asked. “Who turned Vicki?”

“Damon.” Elena answered, hoping Jeremy wouldn’t ask why.

“Why did she attack us?” Jeremy asked quietly.

“She had shut of her humanity.” Came Stefans voice from the door as he and Damon walked in. “I noticed it when I held her against the bus.”

“Shut of her humanity?” Elena asked, more for Jeremys benefit than her own seeing as she already knew.

“Vampires has this switch in their head and if they flip it, they shut of their humanity, emotions, caring, everything that makes you human.” Damon patiently explained.

“I'm sorry you had to lose her.” Elena hugged Jeremy close.

“It wasn’t really Vicki anymore, was it?” Jeremy shrugged with tears in his eyes. “And she attacked you, Lena, I can never forgive that, but it still hurts”.

“I can make you forget that she’s dead and just make you believe she left to go to rehab or something, if you want?” Damon offered, not really caring about Jeremy but Elena? That was another thing entirely.

“Thank you for the offer, but I want to remember.” Elena smiled softly at Damon.

“I want to remember to.” Jeremy decided after a while.

“You know where to find me if you change your mind.” Damon walked out.

“Good night.” Stefan murmured and followed his brother.

“He is so ridiculously in love with you it’s not even funny.” Jeremy chuckled after a while.

“He is not!” Elena denied. “We are just friends.”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have feelings for you.” Jeremy pulled her into a hug as she grumbled at him.

**A/N: chapter is now done!**

**I hope you all liked it :)**

**And now an important question: do you want some specific scene to be from Damons or Stefans perspective? Or do you guys like it when it’s just from Elenas perspective?**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyx** **i**


	6. 162 Repeating History Candles

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

“So, you haven’t seen her since the Halloween party at the school? Where you had a fight?” Sheriff Forbes asked Jeremy. “What was the fight about?”

“She wanted to get back together but I didn’t want that.” Jeremy shrugged, only telling half the truth. “She shouted at me for a while and then she stormed off.”

After the interviews were done, they met up outside the police station, Matt walking off without saying anything but they didn’t blame him. Jenna walked over to her car while Elena and Jeremy stayed to talk to Stefan for a little bit.

“You two okay?” Stefan asked them.

“I think so.” Jeremy murmured.

“I’m fine.” Elena smiled a bit awkwardly. She couldn’t really come to terms with Stefan still having feelings for her, she didn’t lead him on, right?

“Would you two want to come over later?” Stefan asked hesitantly. “I really want to introduce you to my best and oldest friend.

Elena and Jeremy agreed even as they walked towards where Jenna was waiting, “We’ll be over later.” Elena called back towards him with a wave.

XOXOXOX

Elena was sitting on the couch, crocheting, while Jeremy sat behind her at the kitchen table writing something, when Jenna sat down beside her.

“What are you making?” Jenna asked, still slightly shocked that her niece had picked up crocheting as a hobby.

“A jellyfish.” Elena smiled. “You are wallowing.”

“My wallow is legitimate.” Jenna pouted. “I was dumped.”

“Well, Logan wasn’t even that good looking and you can definitely do better.” Elena smiled at her aunt and put away her crocheting to be able to focus on Jenna.

“Thank you.” Jenna murmured then she frowned. “But you didn’t get a brush-off e-mail saying; ‘I'm leaving town. See ya!’”

“Want me and Jeremy to find him and rip his balls off and make earrings out of them for you?” Elena smirked.

“We can even rip his intestines out of his ass so you can have a matching necklace.” Jeremy piped up from behind them. “But that’ll have to wait until I'm done with this.”

“Why?” Jenna looked over at him. “What are you doing?”

“Homework.” Jeremy muttered as he wrote something down. “I gotta finish this, I'm way behind and I have a quiz tomorrow so…”

Elena and Jenna looked at each other and then Elena smirked mischievously. “What do you think? Alien?”

“Some sort of replicant or pod-person.” Jenna added.

“Well this alien/replicant/pod-person can hear you.” Jeremy chuckled quietly.

They all laughed and when the doorbell rang Elena went up to answer it.

“Bonnie.” Elena smiled at the person on the other side of the door.

“Hey Elena.” Bonnie looked slightly awkward. “Can we talk?”

“Sure.” Elena held up the door and waited for Bonnie to pass. “We can talk in my room.”

“I'm sorry.” Was the first thing Bonnie said as they sat down on Elena’s bed. “I know I have been pushy and controlling and I promise to stop but I really miss my best friend.”

Elena noticed that she didn’t say anything about her judgy nature and her always thinking she knew best but still Elena smiled and hugged her. “I forgive you.”

“So, what has been going on with you?” Bonnie asked after a while.

“Well everyone seems to think me and Stefan are dating, which we are not, we are just friends.” Elena groaned. “I just want to think of something else.”

“Just remember you asked for it.” Bonnie smiled and got up to close the window, then she grabbed one of Elena’s pillows and ripped it, emptying all the feathers on the bed.

“You owe me a new pillow.” Elena deadpanned.

“Be patient.” Bonnie reprimanded. “I have to swear you to secrecy.”

“I do hereby swear not to speak about what Bonnie Bennett is about to show me to anyone not already in the know.” Elena promised somnolently.

“There are no windows open right?” Bonnie asked.

“Right.” Elena agreed.

“No air-conditioning or fan?” Bonnie asked again.

“None.” Elena nodded.

“You ready?” Bonnie waited for Elena to nod then she slowly levitated a feather in front of her face. And as Elena watched in shock and amazement, Bonnie levitated several more feathers.

“That’s amazing.” Elena breathed out. She knew about Bonnie being a witch and the whole floating feathers thing but seeing it on a tv screen in her last life and now seeing it in real life are two different things.

“Everything my Grams told me is true, Elena, it’s impossible and it’s true, I'm a witch.” Bonnie looked at her with a smile, then she frowned. “It’s weird, huh? After all this time joking about being psychic, I really am a witch. You don’t think I'm a freak now, do you?”

“Bonnie I could never think of you as a freak.” Elena reassured. “It is kinda cool actually.”

“You are my best friend.” Bonnie pulled Elena into a hug with a bright smile.

XOXOXOX

A few hours later when Bonnie had left, Elena made her way to Jeremys room to get another hoddie to match the dark red jeans she was wearing.

“Hey Jere, can I borrow the black hoddie with the tribal wolf on it again?” Elena called out as she knocked on Jeremys door.

“Sure.” Jeremy held it out with a smile as he opened the door. “Where are you going?”

“Stefan’s.” Elena pulled on the hoddie with a happy sigh. “Wanna come with?”

“Yeah, I need a break from the studying anyway.” Jeremy followed her down stairs.

“Hey, you wanna drive?” Elena dangled the car keys in front of Jeremys face.

“Absolutely.” Jeremy grabbed the key and almost ran over to the car.

As Jeremy drives them to the boarding house, he is very careful, not wanting Elena to freak out or anything. He parks the car outside the boarding house and together they walk up to the door and knock.

“It’s open!” A female voice call out from inside. “Come on in!”

When they enter and walked down the hallway, they bumped into a beautiful blond woman in a towel who looked very shocked.

“Oh My God!” The woman gasped. “How…how…who?”

“I'm Elena and this is my brother Jeremy.” Elena smiled kindly, knowing why the woman, Lexi one of her favorite characters, is so shocked but at the same time can’t really put her finger on it. “Who are you?”

“I'm Lexi, a friend of Stefan’s.”

“Nice to meet you.” Elena smiled again. “Is Stefan around?”

“He’s in the shower.” Lexi told them. “Do you want to wait?”

“When Stefan said he wanted us to meet his best and oldest friend I didn’t think he meant that sort of friend.” Elena laughed.

“No, no, no, not that sort of friends.” Lexi snorted and shrugged. “I took a shower before him and just haven’t gotten around to putting clothes on yet.”

“Elena doesn’t really have room to talk.” Jeremy chuckled. “She can walk around in just one of my shirts for hours after she’s done in the shower.”

“What?!” Elena asked with a smirk. “Your shirts are comfy and it’s freeing to walk around in them.”

“Anyway, did you want to wait?” Lexi asked after her laughter had calmed down.

“No, that’s okay.” Elena shrugged. “We just wanted to know if he had any plans with his friend, you, or if you two might want to go to this party that a friend is throwing at the grill.”

“We were planning on going actually.” Lexi smiled, then she smirked and looked Jeremy up and down. “And if you two are going to I’ll at least have something good to look at while Stefan broods.”

“You can look all you want as long as I'm allowed to look back.” Jeremy smirked back, trying to hide his blush.

“It’s a deal.” Lexi chuckled.

“How about we meet at the grill?” Elena asked. “Jeremy and I can go there now and you and Stefan can come over there when your both ready?”

“Sound like a plan.” Lexi smiled and started to walk up the stairs. “See you guys at the grill.”

XOXOXOX

When Elena and Jeremy arrived at the grill the party was in full swing. Elena saw Damon sitting at the bar and walked over, time to put her plan to save Lexi into motion. “Hey Damon.”

“Elena.” Damon smirked at her.

“How good is a vampires hearing?” Elena asked as she leaned towards him to be able to speak quietly. “Could a vampire here me speaking from across the room right now?”

“Not with the music and all the people talking.” Damon looked at her neck and licked his lips. “Why the questions?”

“I think there’s been a vampire following me for a couple of days.” Elena admitted, and it wasn’t a complete lie, she had seen a man following her. “He is at this moment standing at your seven o’clock.”

“Why are you telling me and not Stefan?” Damon asked even as he turned round and threw an arm around Elena’s shoulder to be able to subtly look at the vampire she was talking about.

“I was going to talk to him about it but decided against it.” Elena murmured. “No offence to Stefan but he seems a little…how to put it, unwillingly to accept what he is and that makes me believe that he won’t do what it takes in this instance either.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Damon told her as he looked at her in a new light.

“Thank you.” Elena kissed him on the cheek and walked over to were Jeremy was talking to Stefan and Lexi who had just arrived.

“Hey guys.” Elena smiled.

“Hey Elena.” Stefan grinned at her, looking a lot more relaxed than usual.

Jeremy was checking Lexi out and Elena couldn’t blame him, Lexi was dressed in all black with a low-cut top and pants that hugged her figure, hell even Elena was looking.

“Elena.” Lexi grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s dance.”

“Okay.” Elena laughed as Lexi pulled her out to the dance floor.

Elena and Lexi danced together for a while, rejecting anyone who tried to cut in and, in the end, they were pretty much pressed together and grinding against each other.

“I need to take a break.” Elena laughed. “Not all of us are vampires and can keep dancing for hours.”

“Fine.” Lexi sighed then she perked right up. “I’ll just go beat Stefan and your pretty brother at pool.” Then she bounced off towards the pool table that Jeremy and Stefan were occupying.

Elena stood watching them with a smile for a while, happy that Jeremy and Stefan seemed to get along.

“Stefan smiled.” Damon’s voice piped up behind her. “Alert the media.”

“I have seen him smile quite a lot, actually.” Elena smiled up at Damon, and seriously was she cursed with being surrounded by tall men?

“Of course, you have.” Damon smirked at her. “He’s ridiculously in love with you.”

“We are just friends.” Elena reminded him.

“Never said you weren’t.” Damon kept smirking at her and walked away.

A few minutes later Lexi walked up to her carrying three shots. “Want one?”

“Sure.” Elena smiled and accepted one of the shot glasses. “But you do know I'm not legally allowed to drink this?”

“So?” Lexi asked and down a shot as Elena did the same.

“Huh. Not as bad as I thought it would be.” Elena shrugged. “I didn’t know you guys could drink.”

“Oh yeah, it helps curb the cravings, but also makes for a lot of lushy vamps.” Lexi laughed as she downed her second shot.

“I have never seen Stefan drunk.” Elena admitted. “He must be hilarious when he’s drunk. I mean, sober he is so…”

“Uptight?” Lexi chuckled. “Yeah, he can be but give it time and he’ll loosen up a bit.”

“So, do you two always go out and party when you meet up or?” Elena asked.

“Yeah, but this is a special occasion.” Lexi smiled. “It’s Stefan’s 162 birthday.”

“What?” Elena looked shocked. “And he didn’t tell me?!”

“Oops.” Lexi chuckled and stood up to go back to Stefan and Jeremy.

“Hit him over the for me and tell him it was for not telling me it was his birthday.” Elena grumbled. “And tell him he is still getting that walker and cane for Christmas!”

A few minutes later, Elena slowly made her way to the bar to get a coke but someone grabbed her arm and started to pull her towards the back exit. Luckily Damon sees what's going on and walk over to help.

“Let go of her!” Damon demands.

“No.” The man growled and his eyes turned black with veins underneath.

Lexi, Stefan and Jeremy came over to just as Elena’s arm started to go numb from the tight grip the man, vampire, had on her.

“Hey, let go of my sister.” Jeremy tried to pry the vampires’ hand of her.

At that point Sheriff Forbes walked over with two deputies and inject the man with vervain.

“Thank you for the vervain.” Sheriff Forbes murmured to Damon. Then she and her deputies dragged the vampire out with Damon following behind.

When Stefan, Elena, Lexi and Jeremy tried to follow they were stopped by some officers blocking the exit.

The four of them managed to sneak out the back just in time to see Damon staking the vampire to protect the Sheriff. As the vampire goes down, he asked. “Why?”

“It’s part of the plan.” Damon whispered so only the vampires could hear. “And you tried to take Elena.”

“I didn’t expect that.” Lexi hummed.

“Me neither.” The others agreed.

“I think it’s time for me and Jeremy to go home and sleep.” Elena admitted as she yawned. “Lexi, it was really great to meet you and I hope we can be friends.”

“Absolutely.” Lexi pulled Elena into a hug. “I’ll just steal your number from Stefan’s phone and we can text.”

“I had fun tonight.” Jeremy smiled. “But Stefan, I do want a rematch someday soon.”

“Any time.” Stefan chuckled.

When Jeremy and Elena finally made it home, Elena chucked off her clothes, brushed her teeth and crawled into bed, her last thought before sleep claimed her was, ‘I'm so happy I managed to save Lexi.’

XOXOXOX

Caroline and Elena were walking towards the school, talking about Caroline’s feelings for Matt.

“I think I really like him.” Caroline said slowly. “But I think he’s still hung up on you.”

“He just needs to realize what a great catch you are, Care.” Elena smiled at her best friend

“So, you are not weirded out by me wanting to date your ex?” Caroline asked hopefully.

“I'm actually very happy for you both.” Elena reassured when the bell rang.

As Elena walked into the history classroom, she shuddered a little and had to suppress memories of Tanner.

“You okay?” A voice asked and she noticed she had stopped in the doorway.

“Yeah, sorry.” Elena tried to smile at Alaric Saltzman, who was the one who had asked.

Elena hurried to her seat besides Bonnie, mind going into overdrive. Alaric Saltzman, the man who used to be or technically still was, married to her biological mother. Does that make him her stepfather?

“Good Morning, everyone.” Alaric writes his name on the board at the front of the room. “Alrighty.”

“Are you okay?” Elena mouthed to a tired looking Bonnie and Bonnie shrugged.

“Alaric Saltzman, it’s a mouthful, I know. Doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue.” Mr. Saltzman started to introduce himself. “Saltzman is of German origins, my family emigrated here in 1755 to Texas. I, however, was born and raised in Boston. Now the name Alaric belongs to a very dead great-grandfather I will never be able to thank enough.” There was a smattering of chuckles in the room. “You’ll probably want to pronounce it ‘ _A_ laric’ but it’s ‘Al _a_ ric _’_ okay?” So, you can call me Ric to make it easier on you and I'm your new history teacher.”

When class was over Elena overheard some of the girls talk about how gorgeous Mr. Saltzman was and had to chuckle. As her and Bonnie made their way outside Bonnie finished her explanation. “And then, I ended up at the remains of old Fell’s church before I woke back up in the woods.”

“And you always see your ancestor Emily?” Elena asked.

“Mhm. Do you believe in ghosts?” Bonnie looked her in the eyes.

“With the right circumstances?” Elena hummed. “Absolutely! And, I mean, your ancestor was a witch.”

“I think I'm being haunted.” Bonnie confessed.

“I don’t get it.” Elena stopped walking. “Why would she haunt you?”

“Grams said that she was a powerful witch back in the Civil War days, and that this medallion was hers. A witch’s talisman.”

“And it all started when you got the necklace?” Elena wondered.

“I think she’s using it to communicate with me.” Bonnie mumbled slowly.

“What does Grams say about it?” Elena asked.

“I can’t call her!” Bonnie burst out. “She’s going to tell me to embrace it. I don’t want to embrace it; I want it to stop!” The she stormed off.

Elena looked after her but decided to find Jeremy instead, feeling anxiety gnawing low in her stomach for some reason and if Elena remembered correctly Jeremy would recently have had history so she made her way towards the history classroom.

When she arrived at the hall going to the history classroom, she saw Principal Grey, Sheriff Forbes and her deputies being showed into the classroom by Mr. Saltzman. She slowly walked closer to listen in.

“Why did you call us here, Mr. Saltzman?” Sheriff Forbes asked.

“I wanted to know why one of the cabinets is basically a shrine with half naked pictures of one of my underaged female students?” Mr. Saltzman sounded upset as he opened something.

“Dear Lord.” Principal Grey gasped, while Sheriff Forbes cursed.

“What is going on?” Mr. Saltzman demanded to know.

“This doesn’t leave this classroom, am I clear!” Sheriff Forbes ordered and the others must have showed some sort of agreement because she continued. “The last history teacher, William Tanner, had an unhealthy obsession with Elena Gilbert. He tried to force himself on her but luckily one of her classmates and his brother came to her rescue. We later found his bedroom full off pictures of Miss. Gilbert and on his computer, we found several videos of her in the shower.”

Elena couldn’t here anymore, there was a rushing sound in her ears and she couldn’t breathe. She stumbled her way outside and her vision was getting blurry.

“Elena?!” Someone called her name but it was like she was under water, she forced her head up and saw Jeremys blurry but worried face. Elena stared at his mouth as he tried getting her attention, everything was just swirling and twisting.

Then there were a second pair of hands on her and she thought she saw Stefan before everything went black.

“Ugh, what happened?” Elena groaned as she sat up.

“You passed out form a panic attack.” Nurse McKinnie said softly as she came over from her desk. “I sent your boyfriend off to class but your brother refused to leave.”

“Boyfriend?” Elena looked to her left where Jeremy was sitting holding her hand.

“She’s talking about Stefan.” Jeremy chuckled weakly.

“Oh.” Elena hummed.

“We called your aunt and she should be here soon.” Elena flinched at the unexpected male voice coming from the corner off the room.

“Why do I feel sorta…floaty?” Elena mumbled.

“That would be the Xanax.” Nurse McKinnie smiled kindly at her.

“Elena? Jeremy?” Jenna rushed into the room. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine aunt Jenna, Elena is the one who had a panic attack and passed out.” Jeremy told his aunt softly.

“What happened?” Jenna asked Elena gently.

“I was looking for Jeremy, I had started to feel a bit of anxiety and Jeremys presence helps.” Elena explained slowly, squeezing her brothers’ hand. “I remembered that he would have recently had history so I decided to look for him there. When I arrived, I heard sheriff Forbes talking to someone inside the room.”

“And you heard her tell us about the videos on Tanners computer.” Principal Grey nodded in understanding.

“What videos?” Jenna wanted to know.

“It seems like Tanners obsession with your niece went further than anyone could have guessed.” Principal Grey sighed. “He had a shrine built in one of the cabinets in his classroom here at school and the videos on his computer is of your niece in the shower.”

“WHAT?!” Jeremy exploded and then there was a crunch as he punched the wall.

Punching a wall is stupid but if you really have to do it, the nurses office is a great place because then you are close to someone who can assess the damage and wrap your hand if it’s needed.

“Wait.” Elena mumbled, still slightly high on the Xanax. “If Tanner had a shrine of pictures here at school does that mean that out new history teacher has seen me naked?”

She was oblivious of the looks she were getting from the others and the giggles from Nurse McKinnie all she could think about in a distant sort of way were the fact that her sort of stepfather had seen her naked. That could get awkward very quickly.

XOXOXOX

“Thank you for coming so quickly.” Elena quirked a smile at Stefan. “But next time you can use the front door instead if my bedroom window.”

“What’s the fun in that?” Stefan smirked then he frowned at her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine or at least I will be.” Elena hummed. “Caroline and Bonnie are coming over for a girl’s night while aunt Jenna and Jeremy went to the grill.”

“Jeremy actually left you alone, willingly?” Stefan looked skeptical.

“Not willingly, per say.” Elena shifted. “Aunt Jenna had to black mail him into leaving.”

“Sounds like him.” Stefan chuckled. “He is very protective of you, you know?”

“I know and I love him for it.” Elena smiled brightly.

“Most people would be annoyed by their younger siblings trying to protect them.” Stefan murmured.

“I'm not most people.” Elena smirked.

“Don’t I know it.” Stefan said quietly, then louder he asked. “So, what did you call me for?”

“Damon threatened Bonnie.” Elena informed him. “She has this necklace. Amanda got it from Damon and she gave it to Bonnie, but now Damon wants it back and he's tormenting her for it.”

“Over a necklace?” Stefan raised an eyebrow at her.

“It’s not just a necklace tho.” Elena claimed softly. “It has to do with Bonnie’s heritage. It belonged to one of her ancestors during the Civil War… When you and Damon lived here. Did you know a Bennett back then?”

“Yeah, her name was Emily.” Stefan nodded. “She was Katherine's handmaiden and a powerful witch.”

“So, you know about Bonnie?” Elena sighed. “That doesn’t actually surprise me.”

“I made the connection the first time you introduced me to her.” Stefan explained.

“That means Damon also knows and now he wants that necklace for some reason.” Elena groaned, even though she knew that he wanted it to open the tomb to get Kathrine out. She had the feeling that she was forgetting something again, about the tomb and Katherine but she didn’t know what.

“What does this necklace look like?” Stefan asked.

“It’s an antique iron setting with a…” Elena did her best to describe it.

“With an amber crystal.” Stefan finished for her. “I know it. It used to belong to Katherine, Emily gave it to her, which means that…”

“What?” Elena prodded softly.

“I don’t know, but I'm going to find out.” Stefan declared and made his way to the window again as he heard Caroline and Bonnie arrive. “Let me talk to Damon.”

“We do have a front door you know!” Elena called after him as he jumped out of the window. The only response she got in return was his laughter on the wind.

Elena shakes her head and make her way down to the kitchen where Caroline and Bonnie had already started to prepare dinner. She walked in just as Caroline asked. “So, you just threw the necklace away? Hey Elena.”

“Hi.” Elena smiled at both of her friends, happy that they weren’t making a big deal out of her panic attack.

“I know it sounds crazy, but the necklace was giving me nightmares.” Bonnie defended herself. “I had to get rid of it.”

“Whatever.” Caroline shrugged. “Are we doing manicures or what? Who has their kit?”

“Mine’s in my bag.” Bonnie directed as she smiled at Elena.

After Caroline had looked through Bonnies bag, she called out a little scared. “Bonnie, didn’t you say you threw this away?” She held up Emily’s necklace.

“That’s not possible.” Bonnie mumbled. “Emily must have done this.”

“Who’s Emily?” Caroline asked perplexed.

“Caroline, I promise to give you a more comprehensive explanation later but the short version is; Bonnie and her family on her mothers side are witches and that necklace used to belong to Emily, one of Bonnies ancestors, and now she's haunting Bonnie.” Elena explained as quickly as possible.

Caroline looked at Elena’s earnest face and Bonnies freaked out one and nodded. “I believe you.”

“Why won’t she leave me alone.” Bonnie moaned.

“I have an idea.” Caroline hummed after a few minutes. “Why don’t we have a séance?”

“I don’t think that is such a good idea.” Bonnie muttered, scared.

“Actually, Caroline might be on to something.” Elena agreed with Caroline. “Emily has some serious explaining to do.”

Around thirty minutes later, the three of them were sitting in a circle on Elena’s bedroom floor, with several candles in front of them.

“What are we doing?” Bonnie asked softly.

“No idea.” Elena shrugged.

“Be quiet and concentrate. Close your eyes and take a deep breath, Bonnie and call to her.” Caroline instructed.

“Emily, you there?” Bonnie hesitantly asked but at Caroline’s judging look she took deep breath and started again. “Emily, I call on you, I know you have a message and I'm here to listen.

The candles flare stronger, making all three of them jump.

“Did that just…?” Elena asked softly.

“Yeah, it just happened.” Caroline nodded.

“It’s just the air conditioning.” Bonnie tried to explain it away.

“Ask her for a sign or something.” Caroline said then she did it herself. “Emily, if you are among us, show us another sign.”

They wait with bated breath for something to happen but nothing does.

“See? It not working.” Bonnie started to say then the windows burst open, “I can’t I'm done!” Bonnie ripped the necklace off and threw it on the ground next to the candles, which blew out, scaring her even more. “Get the light, please someone get the light.”

“Hold on, I got it.” Elena stumbled over to the light switch. When she turned back around, Bonnie is looking more freaked out than ever.

“The necklace is gone.” Bonnie squeaked out.

They three of them start looking for the necklace when Elena froze as she thought she saw a shadow move in the hall outside her door. “Jeremy, are you home?”

While Elena walked out to check if her brother was home, Bonnie saw the crystal on the floor in the bathroom and goes in to get it.

“Guys…” Bonnie turned around with the necklace in her hand to leave when the door slammed shut. “You guys open the door! Help me!”

“Bonnie! Bonnie! What's going on, Bonnie?!” Elena called out as she and Caroline banged on the door and tried to open it.

“Bonnie!” Caroline shouted.

“I’ try the door in the hallway.” Elena ran out. When the door in the hall didn’t work Elena rushed back in to her bedroom just as the door suddenly opened. Bonnie stood with her head in her hands.

“What happened?” Elena asked concerned. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine.” Bonnie said stiffly.

“Are you sure?” Caroline asked.

“I'm fine.” Bonnie said again, still very stiff. “Everything is fine.”

Caroline and Elena exchanged worried looks.

“I must go.” Bonnie turned and walked out.

“Bonnie?!” Caroline called out after her and Elena grabbed her arm.

“I don’t think that’s Bonnie anymore.” Elena whispered.

Elena and Caroline rushed after Bonnie/Emily and reached the stairs as Bonnie/Emily was at the front door.

“Emily!” Elena called out and that seemed to get a reaction.

Emily turned towards Elena and curtsied. “Thank you for having me. I’ll take it from here.”

“Where are you going?” Caroline asked.

“Back to where it all began.” Emily informed them. “I won’t let him have it. It must be destroyed.”

Emile left before Elena and Caroline could reach her but Emily had spelled the door shut so they would be unable to follow her. Caroline and Elena tried in vain to get the door open and had almost given up when it opened.

“What the hell?” Jeremy asked, confused.

“No time, Bonnie is possessed, got to go.” Elena hurried passed him.

“Need any help?” Jeremy called after her and Caroline.

“No but thank you.” Elena turned and smiled at him. “If Jenna asks, I'm at Carolines place.”

Elena tossed her phone to Caroline as she started the car, “Call Stefan and put it on speaker.”

“Stefan knows about this stuff?” Caroline asked even as she did as Elena told her.

“He’s a vampire.” Elena admitted.

“What?” Caroline gasped just as Stefan answered the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Stefan asked.

“Bonnie is possessed by her ancestor Emily.” Elena explained as he pealed out of the driveway.

“She said ‘I won’t let him have it. It must be destroyed.’ And then she just left.” Caroline explained.

“Caroline? You know?” Stefan asked, shocked.

“Yes, now back to Bonnie!” Caroline urged.

“Your right, sorry.” Stefan huffed. “Where do you guys think she went?”

“No idea.” Caroline groaned.

“Fell’s church.” Elena gasped as she figured it out. “That’s where she took Bonnie in her dreams.”

“I’ll get there as fast as I can.” Stefan declared and hung up.

Elena and Caroline arrive at the same time as Stefan to find Damon stuck up a tree with a branch through his stomach.

“It hurts.” Damon groaned as Stefan pulled him down. “This is why I feed on people.

“Stefan.” Emily greeted as they walked closer to her where she is standing.

“Hello Emily.” Stefan smiled at her slightly.

“These people don’t deserve this.” Emily said sadly. “They should never have known such evil.”

“What do you mean ‘evil’?” Stefan asked slowly.

“Emily, I swear to God, I’ll make you regret this.” Damon snarled.

“I won’t let you unleash them into this world.” Emily glared at Damon.

“Them?” Stefan looked confused. “What part of the story did you leave out, Damon?”

“Does it matter?” Damon sneered at his little brother.

“To save Kathrine she had to save the others.” Elena muttered softly. “Isn’t that right?”

“You are a very bright young woman.” Emily nodded in confirmation to Elenas theory. “With one comes all.”

“I don’t care about them.” Damon said. “I just want Kathrine.”

Damon and Stefan started to argue over what was right and not, while Elena and Caroline watched on. Then Elena turned toward Emily. “Is Bonnie alright?”

“Bonnie is strong, she will be fine.” Emily reassured her.

“Don’t do this.” Damon almost pleaded.

“I can’t free them, I won’t.” Emily declared and shouted. “Incendia!”

The pentagram she had carved into the dirt around her was set ablaze and flames created a wall between her and the others.

“No!” Damon called out. “No, please.”

“Bonnie!” Elena rushed forward but Stefan caught her around the waist.

Emily threw the necklace in the air and it exploded above them in a shower of sparks. Once the spell was done and the necklace destroyed, Emily left Bonnies body. Bonnie groaned and looked around in silent horror that soon turns into a scream as Damon rushed forward and bit into her neck.

Stefan rushed over and pulled his brother off the Bennett witch. “She’s alive, but barley. I can save her.” At Elenas nod her bit into his wrist and dribbles some blood into Bonnies mouth.

“Her neck, it’s healing!” Caroline exclaimed as she watched the wound heal.

As Stefan left to look for his brother, Caroline and Elena helped Bonnie to the car.

“I don’t understand.” Bonnie muttered. “His face was like…”

“I know.” Elena reassured. “I’ll explain everything.”

Bonnie backed away as Stefan approached them. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

“I'm going to explain everything to them.” Elena told Stefan as Caroline and Bonnie got into the car.

“You sure?” Stefan asked.

“Yes, they need to know.” Elena said with determination, then she smiled at him. “I’ll talk to you alter or tomorrow.”

As Elena drove the others home, she explained everything and answered all their questions to the best of her ability. Then when she finally got home, she brushed her teeth and walked over to Jeremys room.

“Can I sleep here tonight?” She asked softly. “I don’t want to be alone.”

Jeremy just smiled gently at her and opened his door wider to let her in.

**A/N: chapter is now done!**

**I hope you all liked it :)**

**And now an important question: do you want some specific scene to be from Damons or Stefans perspective? Or do you guys like it when it’s just from Elenas perspective?**

**And who should I pair Elena with? I was thinking Elijah but I haven’t really decided yet. Or maybe Klaus? Anyone have any ideas for me?**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyx** **i**


	7. Turning Bloodlines

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

The next morning Elena woke up to the sound of a pen on paper, she slowly sat up and saw Jeremy sitting on his desk chair, sketching. She smiled and mumbled good morning to him as she walked out of his room.

After her shower Elena decided to wear a tight black, sleeveless top, dark camouflage cargo pants, sneakers and one of Jeremys jackets. Elena chose to wear a teardrop necklace and small hoop earrings to complete the outfit.

As she walked into the kitchen she smiled at Jenna. “Jeremy’s got his sketch pad out.”

“You’re kidding?” Jenna looked ecstatic at the news.

“Nope, but don’t say a word.” Elena looked up the stairs. “The minute we encourage him, he’ll put it away.”

“Psychology major.” Jenna smirked. “Check that!”

“Anyway, I have something for you and Jeremy.” Elena smiled at picked up her bag. “Jeremy, can you come down here?”

“What’s up?” Jeremy asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“Presents!” Elena beamed. “As thanks for you two being there for me.”

“Lena, you don’t have to thank me for that.” Jeremy murmured as he pulled her into a hug.

“I agree.” Jenna smiled sadly, still horrified about what had happened to her niece.

“I know, but I wanted to.” Elena shrugged as she pulled back from Jeremy. “First to the absolute best aunt in the world.”

Elena held out a small box towards Jenna. When she opened it, she gasped, inside was a beautiful locket in silver with Aunt engraved on the front. When Jenna opened the locket there was a picture of Elena and Jeremy smiling, the picture was taken around a year ago from a trip with their parents.

“Oh, it’s beautiful. Thank you!” Jenna hugged Elena tightly. “Help me put it on?”

“Of course, I'm just glad you like it.” Elena fastened the necklace. What Jenna didn’t know was that there was a hidden compartment behind the picture that contained vervain, so she would be protected against compulsions.

“And for Jeremy.” Elena looked through her bag again and pulled out two boxes. One green and the other blue. She gave the blue one to Jeremy as she put the green one in her pocket.

The bright smile on Jeremys face as he opened his present was worth everything to Elena. In the box was a men’s ring, it was pure black, with a black, square stone and in the stone the Gilbert crest was carved in silver.

Of course, Elena had put a hidden compartment filled with vervain behind the stone. The jewelers had looked at her very weirdly at the order but hadn’t actually said anything.

Jeremy gently pulled the ring out and put it on and said softly. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome.” Elena smiled brightly. “And now I have to go to Stefans to give him his late birthday present.”

“Late birthday present?” Jenna asked with a smile.

“The numb-nut didn’t tell me it was his birthday yesterday.” Elena grumbled. “So, I guess he can get his Christmas present as a birthday present instead and I’ll find something else for Christmas.”

“Have fun at Stefans and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Jenna smirked.

“That leaves a lot of options though.” Elena sassed back as she made her way to the door.

XOXOXOX

Elena almost didn’t have the time to even knock before Damon had opened the door. “Elena, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Damon, nice to see you again and thank you for taking care of the vampire stalking me.” Elena smiled. “Now, where is that door stop you call a younger brother?”

Damon burst out laughing and led her inside to the parlor where Stefan was sitting. Stefan gave her a look at her calling him a door stop.

“You deserve every single insult I can come up with.” Elena declared.

“What did I do?” Stefan asked shocked.

“You forgot to tell me it was your birthday yesterday.” Elena mock glared. “And I can only blame the drama going on yesterday that I didn’t lecture you then.”

Before Elena could finish her rant, the doorbell rang and Stefan went to open it. “Sheriff Forbes?”

“I’m here to see Damon.” Sheriff Forbes told Stefan and Elena, who had followed Stefan to the door.

“Uh, sure.” Stefan said, then called out, to keep the illusion of them being human. “Damon!”

“Sheriff.” Damon smiled as he came walking from the kitchen as Elena and Stefan made their way back to the parlor. “What a surprise.”

“Sorry to bother you, but we need to talk.” Sheriff Forbes murmured.

“Come in.” Damon let her in ant they made their way into the back yard.

Stefan started to relay what was being talked about to Elena.

_“Um, I hope you understand the secrecy.” Damon said to the sheriff. “Stefan doesn’t know about this yet and I’d like to keep it that way.”_

_“Of course, kids are too young to be brought in to this.” Sheriff Forbes nodded._

_“I agree.” Damon smiled sadly. “Sadly, I did have to tell Elena about all of it.”_

_“What? Why?” Sheriff Forbes asked shocked._

_“The vampire from yesterday had been following her and yesterday before you and the others arrived, he tried to take Elena away and when I tried to stop him his face changed and she saw it.”_

_“Poor girl, she doesn’t seem to get a break.” Sheriff Forbes murmured. “How did she take it?”_

_“She understandably freaked out a little but she did calm down when I explained.” Damon lied. “I also, with her permission, put vervain in the armband Stefan had given her.”_

_“That’s good.” Sheriff Forbes smiled._

_“So, what did you need?” Damon brought them back to the reason the sheriff was there in the first place._

_“There’s been another attack.” Sheriff Forbes informed him grimly. “A female victim, her throat torn out and completely drained of blood. It fits the pattern.”_

_“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. I thought we solved that problem when I…” Damon looked around. “Staked the male one.”_

“You have to give him credit for being an amazing liar and actor.” Elena murmured to Stefan.

_“I'm thinking that he must have turned someone.” Sheriff Forbes sighed. “Or several someones. I don’t know. The story for the town is another animal attack but I'm not sure how long we can keep lying to them. The council is in an uproar, we thought we were past this.”_

_“So, uh, what do we do?” Damon asked slowly._

_“You are the only one who’s ever taken on a vampire.” Sheriff Forbes looked at him. “We were hoping you could tell us.”_

Elena and Stefan pretend to be busy when Damon and sheriff Forbes came back in again.

“Elena.” Sheriff Forbes smiled kindly at her as she walked past her towards the door.

“Sheriff Liz.” Elena smiled back, it was a bit of a joke between her, Caroline and Carolines mom. Every time Elena had been over at Carolines house since she woke up in this world, she had called Carolines mom for Sheriff Forbes until the sheriff had asked Elena to call her Liz and Elena had responded with ‘Of course, Sheriff Liz.’ And the name had stuck after that.

Damon said good bye to Sheriff Forbes and shut the door and then Stefan was up and had Damon pushed against the door.

“Stefan!” Elena chastised as she glared at his back.

“What is wrong with you?” Stefan growled at Damon, ignoring Elena. “You killed someone?”

“You can’t just throw around accusations like that, Stefan.” Elena chided in Damons defense and she got a look of shock and awe from him before he hid it behind a wall.

“Get off of me.” Damon pushed Stefan off. “A) don’t touch me. B) If I had, I wouldn’t have been so obvious about it. And C) There’s another vampire in town.”

Damon turned around and walked towards the parlor with Elena and Stefan following.

“That’s impossible.” Stefan mumbled.

“Obviously not.” Damon drawled mockingly.

“If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Elena murmured.

“Did you just quote Sherlock Holmes?” Stefan and Damon looked at Elena.

“No, I quoted Spock.” Elena smirked and put her hand up in a Vulcan salute. “Liv long and Prosper!”

“You’re a trekkie?” Damon asked surprised.

“I like a bit of everything to be honest.” Elena shrugged. “Star Trek, Star Wars, Iron Man, Stargate…”

“You have hidden depths, Miss Gilbert.” Damon smirked at her.

“I know.” Elena sassed as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Damon laughed as he walked over to his alcohol table to pour himself some bourbon. “So, did you come over just to insult Stefan or…?”

“Oh, right.” Elena perked up and pulled a green box out of her jacket pocket and turned to Stefan. “Happy late birthday.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything.” Stefan smiled and gently took the box.

“I know but you’re my friend.” Elena shrugged with a small blush.

Stefan slowly opened the box and froze when he saw what was in it. On the satin pillow inside the box was a Viking bracelet in black leather with an amulet in the form of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, surrounded by the 24 Old Norse runes ‘Futhark’ for divination, incantation and the holy protector.

“It’s beautiful.” Stefan gently took it out and put in on his right wrist. Then he walked over to Elena and pulled her into a tight hug, “Thank you.”

“That’s a really amazing gift.” Damon as he came closer to be able to see the armband better, almost sounding jealous. “Hey, Elena, I have a problem and I would really appreciate if you could help me?”

“That depends, is it a ‘I'm in love’ sort of problem or a ‘I can’t fit the body in the trunk of my car’ sort of problem?” Elena asked with a smirk. “Because the first one I can’t help with.”

“So, you would help me hide a dead body?” Damon chuckled.

“Yeah, sure, why not?” Elena shrugged. “The best place to hide it would be in a graveyard, there the likelihood of it ever being discovered is slim to none.”

“Elena?!” Stefan gapped at her while Damon laughed.

“What? It’s true!” Elena defended her idea.

“I don’t think that is what he has a problem with.” Damon chuckled with a smirk.

“Oh.” Elena hummed. “Anyway, what did you need my help with?”

“I need you to take this and follow it.” Damon handed her a pocket watch.

“This is Jeremys.” Elena accused. “Where did you get it?”

“Found it in the hand of the guy who shot Stefan full of wooden bullets.” Damon shrugged. “It used to belong to Jonathan Gilbert and it is designed to track vampires.”

“And you can’t use it because you interfere with the signal.” Elena nodded in understanding.

“Exactly.” Damon had a smirk that was part smile on his face. “I want you to go out and follow where that compass is pointing while talking to me on the phone. That way you won’t be in danger and we can quickly find the other vampire.”

“Okay.” Elena nodded and said good bye to Stefan as she walked towards the door.

“I’ll meet you at the career fair after you’re done.” Stefan called after her.

She drove very carefully as she followed the compass to an abandoned warehouse at the outskirts of town. Elena already knew it was Logan Fell but she just couldn’t tell anyone else that. What was she supposed to say, ‘The vampire you are looking for is Logan fell, how do I know? I saw it in a dream.’? Please, everyone would think her insane.

“So, what do I do now?” Elena asked after she had given Damon her location.

“Just wait there, I’ll be there soon.” Damon said as he hung up the phone.

Elena started to hum softly to herself as she waited for Damon to arrive.

“You can give me that now.” Damon held out his hand for the compass as he arrived beside Elena. “Then you can go to that career fair that Stefan talked about, I’ll handle it from here.”

“Okay, be careful.” Elena smiled softly at him and got into her car.

XOXOXOX

Elena met up with Stefan at the school and they slowly walked inside together. “I’m guessing you're not here to plan the path for your future? You are here to look out for me.”

“Hope that’s okay.” Stefan shrugged. “Before everything happened, I wanted to be a doctor, but then I couldn’t.”

“Because of the blood?” Elena asked softly, then she looked thoughtful. “Wouldn’t being a medical examiner be one of the best jobs for a vampire? I mean, there would be access to free blood or something?”

“I really don’t have the control to…” Stefan trailed off and changed the subject. “I’ve dabbled in a bunch of different things over the years, though.”

“So why didn’t you stick with one thing you loved doing?” Elena looked at him as they walked past a booth with pamphlets about journalism.

“I had to move before anybody could notice that I wasn’t getting any older.” Stefan shrugged.

“How long can you usually stay in one place?” Elena looked intrigued.

“Few years.” Stefan hummed. “Sometimes shorter.”

“I’m sorry.” Elena murmured.

“What about you?” Stefan asked with a smile. “What do you want to do?”

“It’s probably going to sound silly.” Elena mumbled with a blush.

“No, it won’t.” Stefan reassured.

“I want to write books for children and teenagers.” Elena admitted. “And I was going to ask Jeremy if he wanted to illustrate them.”

“I think you would be very good at that and I'm almost certain that Jeremy would illustrate them for you.” Stefan smiled at her.

“Hide me!” Jenna ran up to them and tried to hide behind Stefan.

“What's going on?” Elena chuckled at her aunt’s antics.

“The Scum Fell has landed.” Jenna glowered.

“Logan’s here?” Elena asked.

“Wait, Logan Fell?” Stefan asked surprised.

“Stefan, if Logan is here, and you told me he died, where is Damon?” Elena murmured so only Stefan could hear her.

Before Stefan could answer Logan came up to them, “Jenna, are you dodging me?”

“It’s a form of self-preservation.” Jenna glared.

“Back off Logan or I will rip your balls off.” Elena stepped in front of her aunt.

“Um, Elena, why don’t you and Jenna go somewhere else?” Stefan angled his body so Logan couldn’t get at either Elena or Jenna.

“Come on aunt Jenna.” Elena grabbed Jenna's arm. “Let’s go talk to Mr. Saltzman.”

“Hi Mr. Saltzman.” Elena called out with a smile as she dragged Jenna over to the history teacher.

“Hello Jenna.” Mr. Saltzman smiled at Jenna then he turned awkward and embarrassed as he looked at Elena. “Hey Elena.”

“Mr. Saltzman, just because you have seen me naked doesn’t mean you have to be such an awkward cookie.” Elena smirked as Mr. Saltzman spluttered and Jenna laughed. “Now could you take care of aunt Jenna and keep her creep of an ex away?”

“Creep of an ex?” Mr. Saltzman still looked embarrassed but it seemed like he chose to focus on helping Jenna.

“Logan Fell.” Elena informed him. “He won’t leave her alone.”

“I’ll look after her.” Mr. Saltzman nodded, then he turned and smiled at Jenna. “It’s not like it’s a hardship to spend time with you.”

“Thanks Mr. Saltzman.” Elena smiled and started to leave.

“You know, you can call me Ric.” Mr. Saltzman called after her.

“Thanks Mr. Ric.” Elena called back cheekily.

Elena finds Stefan outside of the school. “Is Damon okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine.” Stefan reassured her. “He’s on his way here.”

Stefan explained everything as they walked down a hallway together. As they walked, they bump into Matt who’s walking in the opposite direction.

“Hey.” Matt nodded at them.

“Hey Matt, have you seen Logan Fell, the news guy?” Elena asked.

“Yeah, he just gave Caroline a ride home.” Matt informed them and walked off.

“Stay here.” Stefan started to leave.

“Stefan.” Elena called after him. “Make sure Caroline is okay and safe?”

XOXOXOX

An hour and a half later Elena had started to pace in the hallway. When she sees Stefan on the other end of the corridor, she hurried over to him. “Caroline?”

“She’s okay, I took her home.” Stefan told her quietly. “She was shaken up but she handled it very well.”

“And where is Scum Fell?” Elena sneered as she said the name.

“Damons dealing with him.” Stefan said.

“As in…?” Elena asked and at Stefans nod she smiled darkly. “I hope Damon makes him suffer.”

“Elena.” Stefan sighed.

“What? He threatened my aunt and kidnapped my best friend.” Elena snapped. “I am not some goody goody two shoes who want everyone to get along. I have a lot of darkens in me too.”

“Sorry.” Stefan mumbled.

“No, I'm sorry.” Elena sighed. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

“It’s okay.” Stefan hugged her. “You’ve had a lot happen today.”

“It’s not okay.” Elena insisted. “Could we maybe go to your place and just watch Disney movies for a while?”

“Yeah, that would be nice.” Stefan smiled.

After they arrived at the boarding house, they made their way to Stefans bedroom. They argued for a while on what to watch but decided on The Little Mermaid.

“Do you leave everything here when you come and go?” Elena asked as the end credits roll on the tv.

“It’s the only place that…” Stefan hesitated before he continued. “…that has remained constant. This room holds every memory that I’ve ever thought was important enough to hold on to.”

“That is a lot of memories.” Elena smiled gently.

“Yeah, I’ve collected a few over the years.” Stefan chuckled. “You thirsty or anything?”

“A little, yeah.” Elena admitted.

“Let me get you something to drink.” Stefan smiled and walked out of the room.

Elena decided to look around and started to explore. She absolutely loved the antique watch standing on Stefans desk, it was beautiful. Then she saw an old picture and went to pick it up. Elena knew about doppelgängers and everything but knowing and seeing are two different things and staring at a picture of Kathrine just made sadness fill her for some reason.

Elena gently put the photo down and left. Going to her car and driving off. Did Stefan only become her friend because she looked like Kathrine? Was she a replacement for a woman he lost or couldn’t have?

She didn’t know were these thoughts were coming from or why she felt an insistent need to leave the boarding house so quickly. Did some things have to happen in a certain way in this world?

She saw someone in the middle of the road and tried to stop but the person hit her windshield. Her car flipped a couple of times and skids to a stop on its roof. Elena is stuck in her seat as the man she hit slowly got back up and started to walk towards her.

Elena screamed both in pain and fear as the man came closer to her, but suddenly the man disappears and Damon is looking at her.

“How are you doing in there?” Damon looked her with concern.

“Damon?” Elena mumbled.

“You look stuck.” Damon informed her.

“No, really? I just thought I enjoyed hanging upside down in my flipped car!” Elena scoffed sarcastically.

“Well, at least you don’t have brain damage as we can see by the sarcasm.” Damon chuckled. “I want you to put your hands on the roof, just like that. You ready? 1, 2, 3.” Damon did something and Elena fell to the ground before Damon picked her up. “I got you. Are you okay? Can you stan? Is anything broken?”

“Uh-hu.” Elena murmured softly as Damon put her down.

Elena felt something shift in her side and slowly brought her hand closer to the spot and looked down at the same time. There, sticking out of her side was a bloody piece of metal. She mumbled slightly detached, “That’s not supposed to be there.”

“Shit, I'm going to have to pull that out and it is going to hurt.” Damon cautioned her. “But don’t worry, I’ll give you my blood afterwards so you’ll heal.”

“Okay, just do it quick.” Elena braced herself and gave a muffled scream off pain as Damon efficiently pulled the metal out. When she finally began to relax, she started to sway.

“Whoa, you're fading fast, Elena.” Damon murmured and bit into his wrist. Elena drank a couple of mouthfuls and pulled back. “Elena, focus! Look at me.”

“I look like her…” Elena mumbled.

“What?” Damon asked.

“Catch me.” Elena told him and fainted.

Damon managed to catch her before she fell to the ground, he gently pulled her up into his arms and started to walk towards his car. “Well, looks like you’re coming with me.”

XOXOXOX

Elena groaned as she woke up. She sat up and noticed that she was in a moving car and was happy about not feeling sick. One thing she really didn’t miss from her last life was the motion sickness.

“Morning.” Damon said from the driver seat.

“Morning.” Elena did her best to stretch in her seat. “Where are we?”

“Georgia.” Damon answered simply.

“Huh.” Elena hummed. “And what are we doing in Georgia?”

“You have no broken bones and any injury you had was heal by my blood.” Damon told her ignoring her question.

“I hit a man but then he got back up, and… who was that?” Elena turned to look at Damon. If she remembered correctly the man she hit was working with Anna, Jeremys future vampire girlfriend.

“That’s what I would like to know.” Damon agreed.

“Can you pull over?” Elena asked kindly. “I need to stretch properly otherwise my back will not like me anymore.”

“As the lady wishes.” Damon pulled over to the side of the road slowly and puts the car in park.

Elena gets out of the car, Damon doing the same, and she put her hands on the sides of the small of her back and leaned as far back as she could until she heard a slight pop. She straightened out again with a satisfied groan. “I needed that.”

“I’ll say.” Damon chuckled.

“That’s my phone.” Elena said with a raised eyebrow as she heard the phone start to ring in Damons pocket.

“Mhm.” Damon smirked and pulled the phone out. “It’s my brother, I’ll take it. ‘Elenas phone…’”

“Elena? She’s right here and yes, she's fine.” Damon bantered and turned towards Elena. “He wants to talk to you.”

Elena shook her head and turned away with a small glare.

“Yeah, I don’t… I don’t think she really wants to talk to you right now.” Damon informed Stefan.

Damon listen as Stefan tried to threaten him over the phone and smirked. “You have a good day. Mm-hmm. Bye-now.”

“So, where are we going?” Elena asked as Damon hung up on Stefan.

“A little place outside of Atlanta.” Damon walked back to the driver side door to get into the car again. “Come on, we’ll have lots of fun.”

“Fine.” Elena laughed and got in the car with Damon.

Around forty minutes later Damon pulled up in front of a bar named ‘Bree’s Bar’.

“You brought me to a bar?” Elena laughed as they got out of the car. “They’re not going to let me in, I'm not old enough.”

“Sure, they will.” Damon smirked and walked into the bar.

“No. No, it can’t be.” A beautiful dark-skinned woman jumped over the bar and made her way towards them. “Damon! My honey pie.” She grabbed Damons face and kissed him.

“Do I get one too?” Elena asked cheekily.

“Absolutely.” The woman pulled Elena into a short kiss.

“Thanks.” Elena beamed and the woman laughed.

“I’m Bree.” The woman held out her hand.

“Elena.” They shook hands and smiled at each other.

“Listen up everybody!” Bree shouted so the whole bar would hear as the three of them made their way to the bar. “Here’s to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life and ruined any and all chances of happiness.” Bree poured shots for everyone, even Elena. “Drink up!”

Elena hesitated for a second then she shrugged and downed the shot with everyone else which earned her an impressed look from both Damon and Bree.

“So, how’d he rope you in?” Bree asked Elena as she poured her another shot.

“I’m not roped, I'm kidnapped.” Elena smirked.

“I did not kidnap you.” Damon exclaimed.

“Well, if you read the law you technically did.” Elena laughed and downed her second shot. “But that’s okay, as long as you feed me, I’ll forgive you.”

“Honey, I really like your attitude.” Bree laughed. “No matter how you ended up here with him, just enjoy the ride.”

“So, how did you two meet?” Elena asked, intrigued.

“Collage.” Bree smirked.

“You went to college?” Elena asked Damon with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ve been on a college campus, yes.” Damon leered at her.

“Ah.” Elena muttered. “That makes more sense.”

“About twenty years ago, when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this beautiful man and fell in love.” Bree chuckled lowly. “And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him more. Because, you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody.”

“She’s a witch.” Damon informed Elena with a smile.

“Changed my world, you know.” Bree nodded at Damon.

“I rocked your world.” Damon bragged.

“He is good in the sack, isn’t he?” Bree leaned conspiratorially towards Elena.

“He would portably look good on his knees in a collar too.” Elena muttered then at the smirk she got from Bree and the surprised look from Damon she blushed. “Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes, yes you did.” Bree laughed so hard she had to hold on to the bar in support.

“On my knees in a collar, huh?” Damon leered at her with a smirk.

“Shut up.” Elena blushed even more.

“Mostly Damon is just a walk-away joe.” Bree said as she calmed down then she turned towards Damon. “So, what is it that you want?”

“You two talk about whatever you need to talk about.” Elena stood up from her chair. “I'm going to call aunt Jenna.”

Elena walked out of the bar and pulled out her phone. “Hi Jenna. I'm so sorry I haven’t called.”

“Where are you?” Jenna sounded worried. “And why didn’t you call?”

“I went over to Stefans last night and we watched Disney movies and I fell asleep.” Elena started to explain. “And then this morning Damon asked if I would like to come with him on a road trip and I just felt like I needed to get away for a while.”

“Are you okay?” Jenna asked softly.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Elena smiled. “I'm actually having a good time. Me and Damon just stopped for food at one of his friends place.”

“Okay, just be careful.” Jenna told Elena. “And call me next time!”

“I will.” Elena promised. “Good bye, aunt Jenna, talk to you later.”

After she hung up the phone, she started to make her way back inside when her phone rang. When Elena saw it was Stefan, she sighed but answered.

“Elena, is that you?” Stefan asked.

“Yeah.” Elena answered simply.

“Where are you?” Stefan wanted to know

“You lied to me.” Elena murmured.

“Not until I explain, please.” Stefan begged.

“So, you didn’t lie?” Elena challenged. “You didn’t use me as a replacement?”

“Just tell me where you are, so that I can come get you.” Stefan pleaded with her, ignoring her question.

“How am I connected to Kathrine, Stefan?” Elena demanded to know.

“I honestly don’t know.” Stefan admitted.

“And I'm supposed to believe that?” Elena asked and hung up the phone, still feeling sad and betrayed for some reason.

“Are you okay?” Damon spoke up from behind her, making her jump.

“Don’t do that!” Elena hissed.

“Sorry.” Damon said but the smile on his face showed that he really wasn’t. “Come on inside, I ordered burgers.”

“Thank you.” Elena smiled and together they walked back into the bar and over to their food.

As they were eating Elena murmured, “Let’s just say that I'm a descendant from Kathrine… does that make me part vampire?”

“Vampires can procreate, but we love to try.” Damon leered at her as he ate a fry. “No, if you were related, it would mean that Kathrine had a child before she was turned.”

“I bet.” Elena smirked as she pulled the pickles of her hamburger.

“Come on, what?” Damon asked and stole one of her discarded pickles. You don’t like pickles? What’s wrong with you?”

“I do like pickles, just not warm ones on my hamburgers.” Elena hummed then she looked at Damon with an intrigued frown. “If you are technically dead, how can you eat?”

“As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally.” Damon informed her with a smirk.

“Do you need any blood now?” Elena asked softly.

“You offering?” Damon chuckled.

“If you need it, yes.” Elena nodded and looked him in the eye.

“I'm good for now.” Elena thought she saw a flash of shock and awe in his eyes but it was gone too quickly. “But thank you.”

“Here you go.” Bree said as she walked over and placed a beer in front of Damon, then she turned to Elena. “Want one?”

“There you go.” Bree smiled at Elena and gave her a beer when Elena nodded.

Around an hour later everybody was taking shots of liquor.

“Ready…Go!” Bree called out.

They all down their shots and Elena quickly put her shot glass down, clapped her hands and did a little happy, wiggle dance.

“That’s three!” Elena crowed then she pretends to pout at Damon. “Aw, do you need a bib?”

“Sorry but most of us can’t unhinge our jaws like a snake to consume alcohol.” Damon chuckled.

“Whatever Mr. Sore Loser.” Elena laughed and looked around the bar. “All right, who’s next? Another round, Bree.”

“Honey, you should be on the floor.” Bree laughed at her.

“I'm not even drunk.” Elena declares. “My tolerance is, like way up here.”

“And you never told me?” A voice spoke up from behind Elena and Damon.

“Lexi!!” Elena almost tackled Lexi in an enthusiastic hug.

“Hey Elena.” Lexi hugged back.

“What are you doing here?” Elena asked happily.

“We were in the neighborhood and decided to get something to drink.” Lexi told her with a smile.

“We?” Elena turned to look at the man beside Lexi.

“Elena this is the love of my very long life, Lee.” Lexi smiled brightly. “Lee this is my new little sister from another mister, Elena.”

“Oh, it’s soooo nice to meet you.” Elena beamed and hugged Lee. “But if you ever hurt Lexi, I shall find you and flay you alive just to see how long it takes for your skin to grow back.”

“Nice to meet you to.” Lee patted her back awkwardly. “And I would never hurt Lexi.”

“Good.” Elena smiled. “Then we can be friends. Wanna play pool?”

The rest of the night Elena spent playing pool with Damon, Lexi and Lee with Bree joining them when she had the time. As dawn approached it was time for Elena and Damon to make their way back to Mystic Falls.

Bree, Lexi and Lee were wishing them a safe trip by Damons car.

“It was great to see you again, Elena.” Lexi hugged Elena.

“We need to plan a shopping weekend or something.” Elena pulled back from Lexi with a smile.

“I'm adopting you, too.” Lee pushed Lexi out of the way so he could hug Elena. “I’ll make Lexi text you my number and if you ever need me, big brother Lee will be there.”

“Bye big brother.” Elena beamed at him and then he was shoved out of the way by Bree.

“You are welcome here anytime, honey.” Bree smirked and pulled Elena into a deep kiss.

“And you will always have a place to stay in Mystic Falls if you ever come and visit.” Elena laughed as they pulled back.

Then Elena and Damon got into Damons car and drove off.

“Thank you for bringing me, Damon.” Elena said after they had been on the road for a while. “I had really fun.”

“I did to.” Damon admitted. “You’re not the worst company in the world.”

“And don’t you forget it!” Elena laughed.

XOXOXOX

Elena walked into Stefans room at the boarding house to see him looking out of the window with a broody look in his face.

“You know your face might get stuck like that if you keep doing it.” Elena gave him a tiny smile.

“Hey.” Stefan smiled back at her.

“You could have told me, you know?” Elena pointed out.

“I wanted to tell you.” Stefan admitted.

“So why didn’t you?” Elena asked then she started to rant. “As crazy as it is, I seem to be more accepting of you being a vampire than you are. My friend is a witch and I also know that the world is a lot bigger and darker than I ever could’ve imagined. But what I cannot accept is one of my best friends using me because I look like his ex-girlfriend.”

“Elena…” Stefan began.

“So, what am I to you?” Elena interrupted. “Who am I?”

“You are not Kathrine; you are the opposite of everything she was.” Stefan declared strongly. “And I know you don’t want to hear this but I need to say it; I love you, okay, I love you for everything you are and for who you are.”

“Stefan…” Elena sighed sadly.

“I know you don’t feel the same and I have accepted that.” Stefan smiled gently at her. “I like being your friend. You are actually my best friend and I don’t want to lose that.”

“I can promise you Stefan, that I will always be your friend.” Elena assured him.

“I figured out you weren’t Kathrine before I even met you, you know?” Stefan proclaimed softly.

“What?” Elena frowned.

“The first day of school, when we met.” Stefan told her. “It wasn’t for the first time, Elena.”

“Then when was it?” Elena sounded confused.

“May 23, 2009.” Stefan murmured.

“But that was…” Elena trailed off. If she remembered correctly that was when Grayson and Miranda Gilbert died.

“That was the day your parent’s car went off the bridge.” Stefan nodded.

“You were there?” Elena looked shocked.

“Every couple of years I come back here, to see Zach and see my home.” Stefan explained gently. “Last spring, I was out in the woods, by old Wickery Bridge and I heard the accident. The car was already submerged. Your dad was still…he was still conscious and I was able to get to him but he wouldn’t let me help him, not until I had helped you.”

“Oh my god. When I woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how I got out of the car, they said it was a miracle.” Elena started to cry, feeling relived that she had read all off Elenas diaries when she woke up in this world, so she knew what had happened.

“I went back for them but I was too late, I couldn’t save them, I'm sorry.” Stefan looked down sadly. “When I pulled you out and I saw your face I was shocked. You looked like Kathrine, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. After that, I spent months making sure that you weren’t her. I watched you and I learned everything I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like Kathrine. I was going to leave town but I couldn’t before getting to know you.”

Elena slapped him across the face, “That was for stalking me for months, you creep.” Then she pulled him into a tight hug. “And that was for saving me. Thank you.”

“You're welcome and I'm sorry.” Stefan chuckled as they pulled back from the hug.

“Why do I look like her?” Elena wanted to know. “What are you not telling me?”

“It didn’t make sense to me, you were a Gilbert, she was a Pierce.” Stefan began. “But the resemblance was too similar and then I learned the truth.”

“What truth?” Elena coaxed.

“You were adopted, Elena.” Stefan sighed.

“How do you know this?” Elena asked slowly as she sat down.

“Your birth certificate from the city records. It says Elena Gilbert, Mystic Falls General.” Stefan told her. “But there are no records of your mother ever being admitted or even being pregnant.”

“What else do you know?” Elena murmured.

“For me to go any further, I would’ve had to look into the Pierce family and I couldn’t do that. It’s too much of a risk.” Stefan explained. “If someone found out I was asking about Kathrine… Listen to me, it doesn’t matter if you are adopted, your friends and family will love you either way.”

“Thank you, Stefan.” Elena hugged him tightly.

A few hours later, Elena walked through the front door to the Gilbert residence. She bumped into Jenna, who looked ready to start lecturing until she saw the look on Elenas face.

“Elena, are you okay?” Jenna asked softly.

“I don’t know.” Elena answered listlessly.

“What’s wrong?” Jenna sounded worried.

“Am I adopted?” Elena asked with tear in her eyes and at the look on Jenna's face she let them fall. “Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?”

“Your parents asked me not to.” Jenna pulled her crying niece in to her arms. “Your mom was planning on telling you on your eighteenth birthday.”

Jenna pulled Elena over to the couch and sat down so they could cuddle and watch comedies for the rest of the evening. Jeremy joined them when he got home from the library but didn’t ask about the tear tracks on Elenas cheeks, just pulled his sister into his arms to comfort her.

**A/N: chapter is now done!**

**I hope you all liked it :)**

**And now an important question: do you want some specific scene to be from Damons or Stefans perspective? Or do you guys like it when it’s just from Elenas perspective?**

**And who should I pair Elena with? You can review your option and I’ll tally them and the one who gets the most ‘votes’ so to speak, wins :)**

**The tally at the moment are:**

**Elijah: 2**

**Klaus: 6**

**Kol: 1**

**Damon: 1**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	8. Damned Unpleasant Children

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

**I also wanted to thank everyone who reviewed, I mean holy crap guys, you are awesome. And as a thank you for everyones support you get this chapter a day early :) I love all of you <3**

The next evening Elena had asked Stefan to come over so she could tell Jenna about vampires and Jeremy about her being adopted. The talk about vampires went fine, if you don’t count Jenna not believing her and Jeremy at first and then her freak out at Stefans vampiric face when Elena told him to show her some proof.

Telling Jeremy she was adopted went a lot better than she thought it would. Jeremy had hugged her and promised that she was his sister no matter what and that he loved her. If Elena had cried a little at that the others were kind enough not to say anything.

“So, vampires are real.” Jenna muttered for the fifth time. “And one is sitting at my dining table right now.”

“You okay, aunt Jenna?” Jeremy asked carefully.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, just need to prosses right now.” Jenna nodded. “You can talk about whatever you want and I’ll pipe in if I have questions or something.”

“I wonder who the man in the road was.” Elena wondered after a few minutes.

“I don’t know.” Stefan said with a shrug. “Do you remember anything else about him?”

“I wish.” Elena muttered. “I never saw his face; he was wearing a hoddie. All I can remember was these black boots coming towards me.”

“I got you some vervain.” Stefan pulled out a wooden box. “I know you already have an armband and that you gave Jeremy a ring and Jenna a necklace but you can also put vervain in food, that way if you ever lose your armband you don’t have to worry if you somehow lose it.”

“What is vervain?” Jenna asked. “And what do you mean Elena gave me a necklace with it?”

“Vervain is an herb that prevents vampires from compelling you, which is basically a form of mind control.” Stefan explained patiently. “And Elena put some vervain in your necklace to keep you safe.”

“Thank you.” Jenna smiled at Elena.

“You are very welcome.” Elena smiled softly, then she turned towards Stefan. “Thank you for all off this.”

“I just want you all to be safe.” If Stefan was human or full of human blood, he would be blushing but one of the only perks of drinking animal blood was that he seldom had the ability to blush. “There’s another vampire in town and until we know who it is and what he wants, we have to be careful.”

The doorbell rang and Jeremy offered to go get it so Stefan and Elena could keep explaining to Jenna.

“Hey, that’ll be $22.” The pizza deliverer said as he pulled out the pizza from the bag.

“Oh, right, just come in and I’ll go and get the money from the kitchen.” Jeremy told the man as he walked towards the kitchen. He didn’t notice the smirk on the mans face or even register that he had said the two words that shouldn’t be said ‘Come in’.

“Hi,” Elena smiled brightly as she came to pay for the pizza. She held out $40 and said, “Keep the change.”

“Thanks.” The man smiled at her. “And you have yourself a good night.”

“I wish you the same.” Elena beamed as she closed the door.

XOXOXOX

The next day Elena and Caroline were walking in the front courtyard of the school while Elena filled Caroline in on everything that had been going on.

“So, wait,” Caroline stopped walking and giggled. “You made out with this Bree woman, not once but twice?!”

“Yep.” Elena smirked.

“Does that mean I can introduce you as my wife or my lesbian best friend now?” Caroline almost bounced in place.

“I’m not a lesbian though.” Elena smiled.

“Darn.” Caroline laughed.

“But you are allowed to introduce me as you ‘Emotional Support Bitch’ if you want.” Elena joked with a laugh.

“Oh, I am definitely using that!” Caroline crowed.

“Anyway, how are things with you and Matt?” Elena smiled at her best friend. She really loved Caroline, she was such an amazing person and she hated how they treated her in the show.

“We’ve hung out a couple of times, that’s it, but…” Caroline hesitated, then she took a deep breath and continued. “I just feel like we’ve peaked as friends. And I don’t think Matt is over you.”

“I have told Matt that I'm a different person since the accident and he’ll just have to accept that.” Elena told her. “He knows that he has to move on and who better with than you?”

“I’m so glad that you are my best friend.” Caroline wrapped Elena in a hug. “I feel like I can talk to you about anything.”

“On that point there is something I need to tell you.” Elena sighed. “But I also need to tell Bonnie so could the three off us maybe meet up at the grill later today?”

“That works for me.” Caroline smiled. “Care to give me hint?”

“It has to do with me and my parents.” Elena hinted. “But it’s not bad, not really.”

Later that afternoon, Elena, Caroline and Bonnie was sitting at a table at the grill eating dinner as Elena tells them both about her being adopted.

“I can’t believe that you are adopted.” Bonnie muttered quietly. “I didn’t see that coming.”

“Not like it matters.” Caroline shrugged. “You are still the same person and I, we, still love you.”

“I love you guys too.” Elena smiled at them. “But things get weirder. I looked at my birth certificate, it lists Miranda and Greyson Gilbert as my birthparents. None of it makes sense.”

“But you said Jenna would tell you what you wanted to know when you were ready, right?” Caroline asked and Elena nodded her head.

“First of all, the Elena I know would always want the real truth, good and bad.” Bonnie insisted.

“And second?” Elena asked with a small smile, she knew Bonnie was right about that one.

“You just found out that your male best friend is a vampire, so unless your birthparents are aliens… How bad could it be?” Bonnie looked at her.

“Unless her birthparents are veelas, like form Harry Potter.” Caroline joked. “That would explain so much though.”

“I don’t know if that is a compliment or not.” Elena laughed.

Caroline just wiggled her eyebrows with a smirk and stood up to walk over and talk to Matt.

“I'm going to have to go to the store.” Elena sighed as she told Bonnie that. “My outfit for the dance is severely lacking in accessories.”

“You do that.” Bonnie chuckled. “I’ll pay the bill.”

“Thanks Bonnie.” Elena smiled. “I’ll pay next time.”

Elena waved at Caroline and Matt as she walked out of the grill. As she walked towards her car her phone started to ring. She pulled her phone put of her bag, “Hello.”

“Hello Elena.” A male voice said from the other end.

“Hey, who is this?” Elena asked.

“You hit me with your car.” The man told her and Elena froze. “Is that a new one?”

Elena started to look around her for the person she was talking to. She spotted the man in the hoddie approaching her from the other side of the parking lot.

“You got away from me last time.” The man growled. “You won’t next time.”

Elena quickly got into Jenna's car, started the engine and sped off down the road, right past the man who watched her drive off with a smirk.

She quickly drove to the boarding house to talk to either Stefan or Damon about what happened. Luckily for her both Salvatore brothers were home and as she told them about the call she started to pace in the library.

“Why me?” Elena asked when she was done retelling her story, more annoyed than scared. “What does he want with me? And if he’s trying to kill me, why call first?”

“We are predators, Elena.” Stefan told her slowly. “We hunt, we stalk and it’s often more exiting then the actual kill.”

“Take this.” Damon walked over to her and gave her Jeremys pocket watch/compass. “As you know this tracks vampire and this way you’ll know if you are in danger.”

“Thank you, Damon.” Elena kissed him on the cheek, then she groaned as she saw the time. “Ugh, I better get home so I can shower before the dance.”

“I’ll pick you up at your place.” Stefan smiled at her as she walked out.

When Elena walked in, she met Jenna who was dressed in a cute ‘50s outfit and cleaning the living room.

“Cute outfit, aunt Jenna.” Elena complimented.

“Thank you.” Jenna smiled. “By the way, I talked to the insurance company and your car is totaled. You can keep using mine until you have taken your test for the motorbike.”

“Thank you, aunt Jenna.” Elena smiled. “So, looking at your clothes I assume you’re going to the dance?”

“Alaric asked me to help chaperone.” Jenna smiled.

“Chaperone, huh.” Elena smirked. “Back in my day we just called it a date.”

“Funny.” Jenna laughed and blushed.

“Hey aunt Jenna?” Elena asked hesitantly. “I think I'm ready to hear about everything now.”

Jenna sighed and sat down with Elena on the couch. “Your dad was about to leave the office one night when a girl showed up. She was sixteen, a runaway and about ready to give birth.” Jenna told her softly. “He delivered her baby and gave her a place to stay, but a few days later, she disappeared and there you were. Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby, but it just wasn’t happening and all Miranda ever wanted was to be a mom.”

“So, my biological mother just left me there?” Elena asked sadly. “With two unknown people who could be in a satanic cult for all she knew.”

“Elena…” Jenna sighed.

“Whatever.” Elena sniffed. “Why were my parents’ name on the birth certificate?”

“Your dad was a doctor, Elena.” Jenna said as if that explained everything and it did. “He took care of it. They didn’t want to lose you, so they kept it quiet, told as few people as possible, but if anyone ever wanted proof, they had documentation.”

“What else do you know about her?” Elena asked quietly. “The girl?”

“Just her name.” Jenna smiled sadly. “Isobel.”

XOXOXOX

Elena looked in the mirror as she put the finishing touches to her ‘50s hair style. She walked into the bathroom to put a few hairpins in and then some hairspray. She had left the vampire compass on the bed and sadly the sound of the needle starting to tick was muffled. When she was done with her hair, she walked over to her closet to retrieve a pink scarf that would work well with the rest of her outfit.

“Hey, Jenna? Jeremy?” Elena walked over to the door and stuck her head out in the hall. When she doesn’t get an answer, she assumed that they had already left for the dance. That is when she finally heard the compass ticking.

Elena quickly walked over to it and picked it up and looked at the needle moving, indicating that there is a vampire close by. She dialed Stefans number as she walked out of her room and down the stairs.

“Stefan’s phone.” Came Damons voice on the other end. “How my I help you?”

“Where’s Stefan?” Elena asked slightly worried.

“He’s on his way to you.” Damon told her. “He forgot his phone.”

“Oh, thank God.” Elena breathed out a sigh of relief. “The compass was spinning but it must just be picking up Stefan. Thanks Damon.”

“You’re welcome, Elena.” Damon said as he hung up.

Just as Elena hung up the phone a man jumped down from the ceiling. Elena spun around and gasped and before she could react the man grabbed her and moved his face towards her neck as his eyes turned black with veins under them.

“Elena!” Stefan called out as he pulled the man off her and threw him over the couch, making Elena lose her balance and fall to the floor.

“Are you okay?” Stefan asked worried after the hooded man had vamp-sped out of there.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Elena reassured him as he helped her up from the floor. “You got here just in time.”

Fifteen minutes later Damon walked through the door and made his way over to Elena and Stefan who were sitting on the couch.

“How did he get in?” Damon asked even as he tried to subtly check if Elena was okay.

“He was invited in.” Elena told him softly.

“He posed as a pizza delivery guy last night.” Stefan explained.

“Well he gets points for that.” Damon muttered and Elena snorted while nodding in agreement. “Did he say what he wanted?”

“No, he was too busy trying to eat me.” Elena told him then added quietly. “And not in a fun way.”

Damon chuckled deeply making shivers run up Elenas spine but she ignored them. So, sue her, she would dare anyone not to shiver when someone chuckled like that.

“And you have no idea who this is?” Stefan stared accusingly at his older brother.

“No, I don’t.” Damon declared and when Stefan looked unconvinced, he continued. “Don’t look at me like that, I told you we had company.”

“You think there’s more than one?” Elena asked slowly.

“We don’t know.” Damon admitted as he sat down on the armrest of the couch.

“Damon, he was invited in.” Stefan said again and Damon nodded understanding at what Stefan was hinting at.

“Then we go get him tonight.” Damon declared and then he turned towards Elena. “You up for it?”

“What do I need to do?” Elena looked determined.

“Let me and Stefan escort you to the dance.” Damon told her. “And we’ll see who shows up.”

“That’s a bad idea.” Stefan muttered.

“This house isn’t safe until we get this guy.” Damon remined him. “For anyone who lives here. It’s worth a shot.”

“Let’s do this.” Elena gave a decisive nod and stood up. “I’ll be with the two of you so I’ll be safe as can be.”

XOXOXOX

When they arrived at the school the dance was in full swing. Elena got a lot of looks from the others when she walked in with two gorgeous guys on either side of her. The three of them ignored the looks and walked over to a table at the side of the dancefloor.

Damon offered to get them some punch and Elena smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you, Damon.”

“You're welcome.” Damon muttered as he walked towards the punch table while Stefan decided to look around to see if he could find anything suspicious.

“Having fun?” Elena smiled at Caroline and Bonnie as they came over to her.

“No, but this took about two hours, so I'm staying for at least, half that time.” Caroline laughed.

“What’s Damon doing here?” Bonnie asked as she glared at Damon who were talking to Stefan.

“He wanted to come and he is my friend.” Elena told her.

“So, what is this, like, a threesome now.” Caroline sent a leering smirk Elenas way. “You and the Salvatore brothers? You in the middle of a Salvatore sandwich?”

“Caroline?!” Elena laughed. “It’s not like that.”

“I really wouldn’t blame you if it was.” Caroline looked over at Damon and Stefan again. “Those are some really good-looking men, though.”

Bonnie sneered at them and kept glaring at Damon and even Stefan, the one who had saved her life several times.

Damon walked up to them with Stefan following him and approached Bonnie. “Hi, Bonnie.” Damon smiled charmingly at her. “Wanna dance?”

“I'm out of here.” Bonnie sniffed and glared at him.

“Please give me another chance?” Damon pleaded softly.

“Back off.” Bonnie stormed off.

“What did you do?” Stefan chuckled at his brother.

“Nothing! I was perfectly polite.” Damon defended himself, then he turned to Elena with a smile and held out his hand towards her. “Elena, would you like to dance?”

“I would love to.” Elena smiled back and took his hand.

Elena heard Stefan ask Caroline for a dance as Damon led her out to the dancefloor with a smile. He twirled her around and pulled her close to him. Elena laughed quietly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands on her hips as they started to sway to the music.

“Shouldn’t you guys be able to sense each other or something?” Elena asked after they had danced for a while.

“Doesn’t really work like that.” Damon shrugged. “See him anywhere?”

“Not unless he has a pompadour.” Elena giggled softly.

“Yeah that was not one of the better fashion trends.” Damon chuckled.

“Please tell me you have pictures?” Elena pleaded with a laugh.

“Of Stefan? Absolutely.” Damon smirked. “Of me? Nope, those are burned and buried.”

“So, what was the fifties like?” Elena asked. “Because in my mind I have this picture that is a mix of ‘American Bandstand’ and ‘Grease’. It’s all varsity sweaters and milkshakes.”

“Well there was that and, you know, McCarthyism and segregation and nuclear arms race.” Damon hummed.

“That’s depressing.” Elena murmured the she got a glint in her eyes. “Please tell me there was poodle skirts at least?”

“There were poodle skirts.” Damon smirked and spun Elena around before he pulled her back in again.

“You are so teaching me to do the hand jive.” Elena informed him with a bright smile.

“I am, am I?” Damon hummed as he smirked at her.

Elena and Damon walked off the dance floor to get something to drink and after a few minutes Caroline and Stefan joined them.

“Okay, now I'm having fun.” Caroline admitted with a smile.

“Me too.” Elena admitted as she saw Damon talking to Alaric a few paces away.

“I was thinking about going to the grill to spend time with Matt.” Caroline told Elena. “He couldn’t come to the dance tonight because he had to work but that doesn’t mean I can’t spend time with him at his work.”

“Care for one last dance, Caroline, before you go?” Elena offered her hand to Caroline.

“I would be delighted.” Caroline smiled and the two girls made their way out on the dance floor.

“Mind if I cut in?” Damon came up behind Elena and Caroline a few minutes later.

“Not at all.” Caroline smiled and hugged Elena. “I'm going to see Matt.”

“Bye Care.” Elena murmured.

“Having a good time?” Damon asked as he pulled Elena close.

“Yeah, I am.” Elena smiled. “And you?”

“Not too bad.” Damon spun Elena around again.

“Maybe he’s not going to show.” Elena murmured as she looked around the room.

“You mean we did all this dancing for nothing?” Damon mock gasped in horror.

“Oh no, the travesty.” Elena giggled.

The music switched and became faster and Elena smiled brightly as she grabbed Damons hand and started to twist her hips. “Show me how it’s done in the fifties.”

“You really think you can handle it?” Damon smirked at her.

“Bring it, pretty boy.” Elena challenged.

Damon pushed her out and twirled her back in towards him, then he picked her up and dipped her on one side and then the other, holding her in the last dip for a few moments. As he straightened up again Elena laughed freely and brightly.

“That was awesome.” Elena beamed at him.

They danced for a little while longer until Elena saw the man in the hoddie at the other end of the room. “Damon, back corner.”

“Get Stefan.” Damon ordered softly and started to make his way over the dancefloor after the man in the hoddie.

Elena quickly lost sight of Damon and couldn’t find Stefan anywhere so she decided to look around. When she walked over the dancefloor her phone rang and she pulled it out to answer.

“Hello Elena.” A male voice greeted her from the other end and she froze. “Here’s what you're going to do. There’s an exit behind you, you have five seconds.”

“No.” Elena declared strongly.

“Or you brother dies.” The man threatened.

Elena quickly looked over to the punch table where Jeremy was serving punch with a smile. Behind her little brother she saw a man talking on the phone and staring at her.

“I can snap his neck so fast that I bet there’s not even a witness.” The man threatened. “Now, start walking!”

“Don’t you dare touch him.” Elena growled into the phone even as she started to make her way to the exit.

“Keep walking through the door.” The man chuckled at her threat.

Just as Elena passed thorough the exit she looked back and saw the man walk past Jeremy without touching him. That’s when she decided to hang up the phone and run. She ran through the corridor and forced herself not to look behind, that is how you die in a horror movie.

Elena ran over to a door and tried to open it but the fucking thing just had to be locked. Who had the bright idea to lock the doors in the school when she was going to have to run for her life?!

She ran down a different corridor, all the while cursing enough to make a sailor blush. Elena almost whooped in happiness when the door to the cafeteria opened but the joy was short lived as the door on the other side of the cafeteria was locked.

“That’s just fucking typical!” Elena hissed just as the man, and if she remembered correctly from the show his name was Noah, flung the double doors open and vamp-sped towards her. She attempted to bolt but Noah managed to garb her hair and she screamed and struggled as best she could.

Noah pulled her closer and then he threw her across a table where she skidded and fell to the floor. Elana frantically grabbed two pencils from the ground just as Noah grabbed her from the floor and pushed her up against a wall.

His smirked as his fangs extend but before he could bite her, Elena stabbed him in the stomach with one of the pencils. Noah, who was shocked enough to take a step back, pulled the pencil out and started to advance on Elena again.

Elena shoved the other pencil thorough Noah’s hand and pushed him to the floor, because she absolutely refused to go down without a fight, she is not a fucking damsel in distress!

As she backed away, she bumped into a cleaner’s cart with a mop that had a wooden handle and she quickly grabbed it and broke it over her knee, creating a crude stake. When Noah walked towards her again with a growl, Elena thrusted the makeshift stake towards his chest but it seemed like he wasn’t shocked at her resistance anymore and managed to catch it.

He ripped the stake out of her hand and snarling went for her neck but before he got to close Stefan had ripped him off her and thrown him across the room.

“Hey, dickhead!” Damon called out to Noah with the discarded stake in his hand. “Nobody wants to kill you, we just want to talk.”

Noah smiled and rushed towards Elena but both Stefan and Damon had expected this so Damon threw the stake at Stefan who caught it and showed it into Noah’s stomach, making him grunt in pain and fall to the floor.

“Now do you feel like talking?” Stefan asked.

“Screw you.” Noah growled.

“Wrong answer.” Stefan dug the stake deeper as Noah groans in pain. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because it’s fun.” Noah smirked.

“What do you want with Elena?” Damon asked as he walked around the kneeling vampire.

“She looks like Kathrine and she smells good.” Noah admitted.

“You knew Kathrine?” Damon looked shocked, as did Stefan.

“Oh, you thought you were the only ones.” Noah gave a laughing sneer. “You don’t even remember me.”

“Tell me how to get into the tomb.” Damon demanded.

“No.” Noah denied with a smirk.

Elena pushed Stefan and Damon out of the way and pulled the stake out, only to dive it in again a little closer to his heart. “Tell him.”

“The Grimoire.” Noah gasped out in pain.

“Where is it?” Damon growled and when Noah didn’t answer Elena agonizingly slowly twisted the stake to give maximum damage and pain.

“Check the journal!” Noah screamed desperately. “The journal. Jonathan Gilbert’s journal.”

“Who else is working with you?” Stefan demanded to know and grabbed the stake from Elena when Noah didn’t answer and showed it in further.

“Who else is there?!” Damon glared.

“No,” Noah gasped. “You're going to have to kill me.”

“Fine by me.” Damon backed away and Stefan pulled the stake out only to shove it through Noah’s heart.

“You’re pretty badass, you know that.” Damon told Elena.

“Well, duh.” Elena smirked.

They heard a door open and saw Alaric coming through one of the door’s windows and Stefan turned to Damon and said, “Go, I got this.”

“What do you need me to do?” Elena asked Stefan as Damon left.

“Me and Damon will handle the body.” Stefan reassured her. “You can go home and I’ll come over later and we’ll talk.”

“Okay, if you're sure.” Elena hesitated but at Stefans nod she walked out of the cafeteria.

XOXOXOX

Elena sat on the couch playing with her pink scarf as Stefan made tea in the kitchen.

“Doing okay?” Stefan asked as he came over with two mugs and sat down beside her.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Elena asked, looking at him.

“You just help torture and then kill someone.” Stefan reminded her softly.

“First of; when he threatened Jeremy, he forfeited his life because that is one thing I cannot let go or forgive!” Elena growled. “And second: there is very little I wouldn’t do to protect my friends and family, plus I refuse to be a distressing damsel that always needs rescuing.”

“I wish you didn’t have to fight at all.” Stefan admitted.

“Is that you’re upbringing in the 1800s or are you being a misogynistic pig?” Elena glared at him. “Because if it’s the second I will kick your ass.”

“I think it’s both my upbringing and that I don’t like seeing my friend in danger.” Stefan answered quickly.

“Good answer.” Elena smirked at him.

“I do need to tell you something and I don’t know how you're going to feel about it.” Stefan said slowly.

“What?” Elena turned so all off her focus was on Stefan.

“I told Damon that I’d help him get into that tomb to get Kathrine back.” Stefan informed her and she smiled but Elenas smile slipped as he continued. “But that was a lie. I let him believe he could trust me.”

Elena slapped him hard over the back of the head and glared at him. “Stefan!”

“What?” Stefan actually looked shocked, like he didn’t know why she was mad at him.

“We are helping him get Kathrine back!” Elena declared.

“Why?” Stefan asked. “Damon kills people and it will be more dead bodies if Kathrine joins him.”

“Stefan, you are vampires, killing is in your very nature.” Elena tried to make him understand.

“But that doesn’t mean we have to kill and be monsters.” Stefan argued.

“Oh Stefan.” Elena sighed softly as she saw the self-hatred in his eyes. “Just because you are a vampire and kill people doesn’t make you a monster.”

“But…” Stefan looked so lost.

“Think of it like this; if the earth gets an overpopulation of rabbits, what happens?” Elena asked him when he just looked confused, she continued. “The population of foxes also go up to regulate the rabbit population. You with me so far?”

“Yeah, but I don’t see what this have anything to do with vampires.” Stefan shrugged.

“In this conversation the rabbits are the humans while the foxes are the vampires.” Elena explained patiently. “Vampires are basically there so humans don’t over populate the world, well more than they already have.”

“Oh.” Stefan looked like he was deep in thought and contemplating everything Elena had told him.

“Think about it, Stefan.” Elena encouraged him. “How do you think the human population would fare without vampires if we already have basically over populated the world and starving, homeless and jobless people are a norm and our natural resources are running out?”

“It would be chaos and a lot more people would die.” Stefan said in realization.

“Exactly.” Elena smiled proudly at him.

“I’ve never thought about it like that before.” Stefan looked at her and smiled. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome.” Elena smiled back. “Now are you onboard with helping your brother?”

“Yes.” Stefan declared strongly and hugged Elena.

XOXOXOX

Two days later Elena woke up in Stefans bed at the boarding house after she had fallen asleep while they watched Disney films. She was determined to make Stefan watch every single Disney film in existence.

“Morning.” Elena mumbled as she snuggled closer to her pillow.

“Good morning.” Stefan smiled from where he was sitting by his desk and writing in his journal.

“Rise and shine, sleepyheads.” Damon declared dramatically as he walked into Stefans room.

“Good morning Damon.” Elena smiled and sat up against the head board, making the sheets fall down to her waist showing off her black bra.

“Did you two have sex?” Damon leered but had a weird look in his eyes.

“Huh?” Elena asked but the she looked down. “Oh right, no we did not have sex. It was way too hot during the night so I took of my clothes to sleep in my underwear.”

“And you're not trying to cover up right now, because?” Damon wondered as he looked at her.

“It’s not like you and Stefan hasn’t already, sort of, seen me naked.” Elena shrugged with a laugh.

“No, we haven’t.” Stefan denied, confusion plane on his face.

“So, you didn’t sleep with Kathrine?” Elena asked with a smirk.

“Well, yeah.” Stefan nodded. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Is he always this slow in the mornings?” Elena turned to Damon with a smirk.

Damon was laughing so hard that he had tears streaming down his face and had to lean against Stefans bed. “Stefan…” He couldn’t finish his sentence because of the laughter.

“If your goal for this visit was to make me feel stupid, you have succeeded.” Stefan pouted.

“Stefan, aren’t Kathrine and I identical in our appearance as far as you can tell.” Elena asked with a bright grin.

“Yeah.” Stefan nodded slowly.

“So, if you have seen Kathrine naked then you have as good as seen me naked, right?” Elena giggled.

It took a few seconds for Stefan to catch up and then it was as if a light bulb when off in his head and he got an embarrassed look on his face. “Oh.”

“I came in here to discuss some important business with you two.” Damon had managed to calm down somewhat but still let out a chuckle every now and again. “In order to open the tomb, we need to find Jonathan Gilbert’s journal to get the grimoire to undo the spells.”

“Yeah that would probably help.” Elena nodded with a mock seriousness.

“First things first: since you are Elena Gilbert, you are on journal duty.” Damon continued like Elena hadn’t said anything.

“I’ll look for it when I get home.” Elena offered with a smile.

“Good.” Damon smiled back at her.

“How do we know that this journal will hold the location of the grimoire?” Stefan asked slowly after he had gotten over his embarrassment, but he did have a hard time looking at Elena without letting his eyes wander. “We’re really going to take the word of this vampire? He seemed like a bit of a dimwit.”

“In lieu of other options.” Damon nodded.

“So, just to be certain that I know what we are looking for, a grimoire is a witch’s spell book, right?” Elena looked between the brothers.

“Yup, could also be called a witch’s cookbook.” Damon smirked.

“Every spell that a witch casts is unique unto itself, so every witch would document their work.” Stefan explained.

Elena looked at Damon and together they chorused, “Cookbook.”

“What about our mystery vampire?” Stefan smiled at them with a raised eyebrow. “Dimwit obviously wasn’t working alone, so whoever’s out there knows who we are.”

“And, frankly, I don’t like the disadvantage, so…” Damon clapped his hands together. “Chop, chop.”

“One part of me wants to say ‘You're not my real dad!’ while the other wants to say ‘Make me!’” Elena smirked with a shrugged.

“You know, I really like this whole menage a threesome team thing.” Damon snorted. “It’s got a bit of a kink to it.”

“So, if you and Damon started fucking, who would take it up the ass and can I watch?” Elena looked at Stefan with a leer as Damon walked out of the room.

Stefan stared horrified at Elena and they heard Damon stumble down the stairs and Elena started to laugh devilishly.

“You do know we are brothers, right?” Stefan asked as he looked at her.

“Stefan, you and Damon are my friends and I don’t judge.” Elena laughed and then smiled kindly at him, knowing Damon was also listening in. “If you one day decided you wanted to get gang banged by a whole freaking biker gang, I would just make sure that everyone was consenting adults and that you all had enough lube.”

“Your mind is a very dark, disturbing place, isn’t it?” Stefan asked quietly and Elena just smiled innocently back at him.

XOXOXOX

Later that day Elena looked through boxes of old family memorabilia for the journal while Stefan sat at the breakfast bar watching her.

“How are you feeling?” Elena asked as she pulled out a few stacks of papers from the box.

“I'm fine, why do you ask?” Stefan looked at her.

“Well, I did basically change the way you looked at the world a few days ago.” Elena shrugged.

“I'm trying to get used to it but I always find myself thinking about things ‘the human way’ so to speak and it’s hard to just switch my way of being.” Stefan tried to explain. “And I just can’t stop feeling a high regard for human life.”

“You don’t have to become apathic towards human life or anything like it as long as you realize that killing something to be able to eat has been done as long as life has existed.” Elena smiled reassuringly at him.

Elena picked up a photo of a man from the box and Stefan stood up to walk over to her to be able to see the picture.

“That’s Jonathan Gilbert.” Stefan informed her.

“He looks a bit like my dad.” Elena murmured softly.

“Genetics tend to do that.” Stefan teased and she elbowed him in the stomach playfully.

“What’s this?” Elena opened a wooden box and contained within it was what appeared to be a muzzle.

“That is a muzzle designed for vampires.” Stefan explained softly. “It is made so your jaw is unable to open and that way you can’t feed.”

“That’s just barbaric.” Elena exclaimed in disgust. “If you hunt and kill vampires, fine I can accept that but to starve them? That is just unnecessarily cruel.”

“What are you guys doing?” Jeremy asked as he entered the room.

“Realizing that our ancestors were disgusting and sadistic pigs.” Elena sneered but then she smiled at her little brother. “We are looking for Jonathan Gilbert’s journal. Know anything about it?”

“Yeah, I just did a history report on it.” Jeremy smiled proudly. “I even got an A on it.”

“That’s amazing, Jeremy!” Elena jumped up and hugged Jeremy.

“What do you need the journal for anyway?” Jeremy laughed as he hugged Elena back.

“Oh, it’s supposed to contain the location of a grimoire that we need.” Elena told him.

“A grimoire?” Jeremy asked wide eyed. “As in a witch’s spell book?”

“Exactly like that.” Elena beamed,

“Witches are real too?!” Jeremy looked flabbergast and then a smile slowly broke out on his face. “That is so cool!”

“I should really stop being surprised at how easily this whole family accepts the supernatural.” Stefan mumbled with a shake of his head.

“So anyway,” Elena smiled. “Where is the journal now?”

“I gave it to Mr. Saltzman, he wanted to see it.” Jeremy shrugged then he turned hesitant. “Shouldn’t I have?”

“Eh, we’ll just go ask him for it.” Elena smiled and ruffled, or tried to ruffle, Jeremys hair, but she frowned. “Jeremy?”

“Yeah?” Jeremy looked at her.

“Since when did you become so tall?” Elena giggled.

“When did you become so short?” Jeremy smirked teasingly at his older sister.

“I'm not short,” Elena pouted. “I'm fun sized.”

XOXOXOX

Elena came downstairs after having taken a shower, wearing blue booty shorts, thigh high socks and a black, off the shoulder top, to find Damon slicing tomatoes and talking to Jenna, who sat at the counter drinking wine.

“My father never approved of anyone I dated, which only made me want them more, of course.” Damon chuckled. “What about you?”

“There were a few guys.” Jenna admitted. “Logan isn’t the only loser I’ve dated.”

“About that, you know about…?” Damon hesitated.

“Vampires?” Jenna asked and nodded the she smiled at Elena. “Hey Elena.”

“Hey Jenna, Damon.” Elena smiled back and grabbed a coke from the fridge.

“Elena.” Damon leered and looked her up and down while Elena just raised her eyebrow at him.

“What were you saying about vampires?” Jenna asked Damon.

“Huh? Oh, right.” Damon looked at her. “Logan Fell isn’t really missing, he’s dead.”

“What?” Jenna gasped.

“You remember all those ‘animal attacks’?” Damon asked and Jenna nodded. “Well, those were actually him. He was a vampire and he not only threatened Elena, Jeremy and you but he actually kidnapped Caroline Forbes in the intent to turn her.”

“Oh my God.” Jenna looked shocked, then her face turned into a sneer. “I hope he burns in the deepest reaches of hell.”

“Aunt Jenna.” Elena laughed.

“What? He threatened you and Jeremy.” Jenna said. “If I had known I would have killed him myself.”

“You are pretty bad ass.” Damon chuckled. “I can see were Elena learned it.”

Jenna and Elena smirked and fist bumped to celebrate their bad assery.

“I'm going to freshen up a bit before dinner.” Jenna said after a few minutes and walked upstairs.

A while later Damon placed something the dinner table and headed back to the kitchen. On the way he bumped into Elena who was carrying plates towards the table.

“Woah.” Damon hummed as he steadied her so she wouldn’t fall.

“Thanks.” Elena smiled.

“No problem.” Damon smiled back and made his way to the stove. “Where is Stefan? He’s missing family night.”

“He should be here soon.” Elena told him as she walked back into the kitchen.

“Is it real?” Damon asked quietly.

“Is what real?” Elena looked at him.

“This renewed sense of brother hood?” Damon took the spoon from the pot to taste the sauce. “Can I trust him?”

Elena smiled gently at him and walked closer to place a hand on his cheek. “I can understand that you have a hard time trusting Stefan after all these years, I have no idea what happened to ruin you bond and I don’t need to know. What I can tell you is if you can’t trust Stefan then you can at least trust me.”

With that little speech Elena gently patted Damons cheek and went to put napkins on the table, ignoring the vulnerable look in Damons eyes until he had been able to put his mask back in place.

“There was a time when I trusted him more than anyone.” Damon admitted softly. “Did you know I basically helped rase him?”

“Really?” Elena smiled at him. “Was he as an adorable kid as I think he was?”

“Oh, he was more adorable than you can imagine. Big green eyes, tufts off blond hair and a toothy grin. He could get away with almost anything as long as he turned his sad green eyes at the servants and those times he couldn’t get out of trouble on his own, I helped him out of it.” Damon smiled then he started to smirk. “Of course, I got him in a lot of trouble too.”

“You still love him.” Elena said softly.

“What gave you that idea?” Damon asked defensively.

“Because there is nothing, and I mean absolutely _nothing,_ Jeremy could do to make me love him any less.” Elena looked at him with a knowing glint in her eyes. “But don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

Around forty minutes later Damon placed the food on the table just as Jeremy came walking in.

“Oh food!” Jeremy looked enthusiastically at the food then he frowned and looked at Elena. “Aunt Jenna didn’t cook, right?”

“Hey!” Jenna called out as she hit him over the head and Elena started to laugh and Damon chuckled.

“No, Damon cooked.” Elena smiled and they all sat down to eat.

Jeremy moaned as he took a bite of his food and then he turned mischievous eyes towards Elena. “You better marry him or I will.”

Damon choked on his food and started to chough as Jenna started to laugh her ass off.

“I didn’t know you were interested in men, little brother.” Elena teased back.

“For food like this?” Jeremy smirked. “I’ll be interested in whatever he wants me to be.”

“I'm very flattered, baby Gilbert, but I have a girlfriend I'm trying to free from a tomb.” Damon smirked after he had managed to stop coughing.

“Darn it.” Jeremy mocked groused.

“Hey Elena?” Jeremy asked mischievously after a while. “Why do they make birthday cake flavor when birthday cake can be any flavor?”

“I don’t know.” Elena smiled back devilishly. “But I do know that onion rings are just vegetable donuts.”

“Well, your stomach thinks all potatoes are mashed.” Jeremy fired back.

“Lobsters are mermaids to scorpions.” Elena bantered with a smile.

“Cookie dough is the sushi of desserts!” Jeremy countered.

“If tomatoes are actually a fruit,” Elena pondered. “That makes ketchup a jelly.”

Jeremy was quiet for a while and then he nodded. “Okay, you win this time.”

“Really you two?” Jenna laughed.

“What?” Elena and Jeremy asked at the same time with big, bright smiles.

“Never mind.” Jenna just shook her head.

Jeremy’s phone went off and he took out his phone to look but then he just ignored the call and put the phone away.

“Who are you dodging?” Damon asked as he leaned back in his seat.

“This girl, Anna.” Jeremy said with a shrug. “She can be, uh, persistent.”

“Is she hot?” Damon raised his eyebrow at Jeremy.

“Yeah, I guess but she can be a bit weird.” Jeremy admitted.

“Hot trumps weird, trust me.” Damon told him and then he smirked. “Just look at your sister.”

“First off; HEY!” Elena threw a bred roll at Damon who dodged. “And second; Yeah that’s fair.”

“Did you just admit to being weird?” Jenna giggled.

“Well of course.” Elena beamed. “Who wants to be normal anyway?”

“Boring people?” Jeremy asked with a smile.

“Exactly!” Elena nodded. “Listen to the boy, he is going places.”

That made them all chuckle and agree, then the doorbell rang and Elena was standing in front of the door in a rush of air.

“Did you just vamp-speed me to the door?” Elena laughed even as she opened the door to see Stefan standing there.

“Maybe…” Damon hummed then turned to Stefan. “Hello little brother, how went the retrieval?”

“Come on, Jenna and Jeremy are waiting at the dinner table.” Elena led the way.

As Stefan and Damon sat down at the table and Stefan started to tell them what had happened with Alaric, Elena went around and poured more wine for Jenna and Damon, and got coke for Stefan, Jeremy and her.

“So, who took it?” Damon asked after Stefan was done.

“I don’t know.” Stefan admitted. “But…”

“You know what, it’s that teacher.” Damon growled, interrupting Stefan. “There is really something off about him.”

“You mean other than him being a vampire hunter?” Jenna asked, still reeling from that.

“No, he doesn’t know anything. Somebody got to it right before me. But that…” Stefan was interrupted again.

“Who else knew it was there?” Damon demanded to know.

“I did.” Jeremy piped up. “And I might have told Anna.”

“Wait, who’s Anna?” Stefan asked.

“That’s what I want know.” Damon fumed.

“It doesn’t…” Stefan tried to say.

“Anna wanted to meet at the grill tonight if that helps?” Jeremy offered before Stefan could finish.

“Perfect, I’ll drive.” Damon stood up but before he and Jeremy could start walking away, Stefan gave a piercing whistle that caught everyone’s attention.

“Like I’ve been trying to say for the last fifteen minutes; We don’t need the journal!” Stefan sounded annoyed and pulled a stack of papers from his jacket. “Alaric had made a copy of the journal and I might have borrowed it without permission.”

“Why didn’t you just say so in the first place?” Damon huffed and sat down again.

“How about this, Jeremy and Damon still go to the grill and find out who this Anna girl is while me and Stefan look through these papers?” Elena asked quickly before Stefan could attack Damon, because if looks could kill Damon would be deader than a doornail. “Then when we find something, I’ll call Damon and we’ll meet up again?”

“Works for me.” Jeremy nodded.

“Do you promise to call?” Damon looked Elena in the eyes.

“I promise.” She smiled gently at him.

“Right.” Damon stood up again. “Come along, baby Gilbert.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Jenna asked, not having received a task.

“Take an early night.” Elena smiled at her. “You have a meeting early tomorrow morning, if I remember correctly.”

“If you're sure.” Jenna hesitantly got up. “But come and wake me if you need me, okay?”

“Absolutely.” Elena agreed.

“Listen to this,” Elena spoke up twenty minutes later and started to read out loud. “ _The Fell family believed it should be I, not them, who protected the witch’s spell book, but I feared she would haunt me from hereafter. They mocked my fear, but it was Giuseppe Salvatore who-_ Is that your father?”

“Yeah.” Stefan nodded and took the pages from Elena so he could continue to read. “ _It was Giuseppe Salvatore who removed my fear. He told me he would protect the secret of the spell book. he said he would carry it to his grave._ ”

Stefan frowned in thought for several minutes then his face cleared as he got a look of dawning apprehension there instead of a frown. “I know where it is.”

“You drive and I’ll call Damon and Jeremy.” Elena said as she started to make her way to the car.

“Hey, Damon.” Elena said as Damon picked up the phone.

“Found something, then?” Damon asked.

“Yeah and if you could grab Jeremy and meet Stefan and me at the old cemetery, that would be great.” Elena told him.

“We’ll be there. And Elena,” Damon said before she could hang up. “Thank you.”

Elena and Stefan are setting up torches and taking out supplies by Giuseppe’s tombstone when Jeremy and Damon arrived.

“Why isn’t your father buried in your family’s tomb?” Jeremy asked as they walked up.

“It wasn’t built until after he died.” Stefan explained.

“You will never guess who this Anna chick is.” Damon said as he sat down on the tombstone.

“Who?” Stefan looked up at his brother.

“Annabelle Zhu.” Damon smirked.

“You know her?” Jeremy asked. “Then why didn’t you say anything to her?”

“Annabelle’s mother was good friends with Kathrine back in the day.” Damon explained. “And if I had approached her, she would have found out that you knew about all this and we would lose our insider, sort of.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right.” Jeremy shrugged not really surprised that Anna was a vampire.

“How sure are we that the grimoire is here?” Elena asked softly.

“As sure as we can be.” Stefan picked up the two shovels and tossed one at Damon.

“What do you want us to do?” Elena indicated towards herself and Jeremy.

“Just stand there and look pretty.” Damon smirked and started to dig.

“Aww you think I'm pretty?” Jeremy mock squealed.

“You are a real-life Disney princess.” Damon bowed at Jeremy with a laugh.

“I'm sorry you both have to do this.” Elena murmured sadly.

“It’s no problem for me.” Damon shrugged. “Let’s just say that me and my father never got along and leave it at that.”

While the Salvatore brothers dug up their father’s grave Elena started to giggle and shake her head.

“What?” Stefan asked as he looked up at her.

“Oh, I don’t know. Could be that I'm in an old cemetery in the middle of the night helping to dig up my vampire best friends’ father to get a witch’s grimoire.” Elena laughed. “What is even my life?”

“When you put it like that it sounds like the plot of a bad movie or tv-series.” Jeremy laughed and the only thing Elena could think was, ‘Oh, you have no idea’.

“Stefan why don’t you get out of this hole?” Damon asked his brother as his shovel hit the lid of a coffin. “It’s too small for both of us to be in here.”

Jeremy offered Stefan a hand up from the hole, not that he needed it, but it was the thought that counted, right? As Elena pointed the light beam of her flash light down to help Damon se better.

“Here goes nothing.” Damon muttered and opened the lid of the coffin.

Damon gave a sigh of relief as he bent down to retrieve the grimoire which was covered in a brown cloth bag and was cradled in his father’s arms. He then jumped out of the grave and pulled the bag of only to gasp as a cloud of dust flew up in his face.

Stefan stepped forward to help his brother when Damon started to scream in agony, but Damons gesture for him to stay away stopped him in his tracks.

“Not dust.” Damon forced out as he coughed up blood, having breathed in the dust, and the skin on his arms, hands and face started to blister. “Vervain!”

“Here.” Jeremy rushed froward as he pulled his outer shirt of and wrapped it around the grimoire.

“What can we do?” Elena asked desperately as she hurried over to try and help Damon.

“You need to take his shirt of.” Stefan told her quickly. “The vervain dust is still on it and flying up and around him every time he choughs.”

“It’s gonna be okay, Damon.” Elena murmured as she carefully but quickly removed Damons shirt. “Then what?”

“He needs fresh blood.” Stefan admitted as he watched his brother suffer without being able to help.

“Take mine.” Elena offered her neck to Damon.

“Are you sure?” Damon asked her even as he stared longingly at her neck.

“Yes, now do it!” Elena ordered him

“Thank you.” Damon murmured and then he sank his teeth into her exposed neck. He pulled back as Elena started to sway a little.

“Do you need more?” Jeremy asked as he came over.

“You would let me…?” Damon looked confused.

“Well, yeah, you're my friend and I don’t like seeing my friends hurt.” Jeremy offered his wrist to Damon. “But you are not drinking from my neck, it would be a bit awkward to bend down for that.”

“Did you just call me short?” Damon snorted but took the offered wrist and bit down. He didn’t need to take as much from Jeremy as he had from Elena and slowly pulled back.

Stefan walked over and pulled Damon in to a hug. “I'm glad that you are okay.”

Later Damon carried Elena into her bedroom and laid her down on the bed gently while Jeremy and Stefan explained what had happened to Jenna who had woken up when Damon rushed through the door.

“You know you don’t have to do this, right?” Elena smiled at him. “I'm fine, just a little dizzy and headachy.”

“I know but you did save me from a lot of pain.” Damon shrugged. “Where’s your aspirin?”

“Downstairs I think.” Elena mumbled.

“I’ll go find it.” Damon told her and walked out of the room.

Elena felt her head throb and closed her eyes, when she opened them again a young woman was standing over her but before she could scream everything went black.

**A/N: The long ass chapter is now done!**

**I hope you all liked it :)**

**First a question unrelated to this fanfic: A very good friend of mine made two fic requests that I could choose from and I wanted to ask you what you thought sounded more interesting.**

**The first one is about an older sibling to Elena and Jeremy who somehow gets the ability to see the future.**

**The second one is about an OC friend of Stefan that decides with Stefan, who is a lot more like Damon in this and a lot less like a brooding boring guilt tripper, to use her powers to travel back in time when Damon was kidnapped by Augustine to help him and Enzo escape but something went wrong and they ended up a lot earlier than they meant to.**

**Anyway, back to the questions relevant to this story:**

**Do you guys want Caroline and Matt to stay together or should they break up? And if they break up, who should Caroline be with?**

**And who should I pair Elena with? You can review your option and I’ll tally them and the one who gets the most ‘votes’ so to speak, wins :)**

**The tally at the moment are:**

**Elijah: 14**

**Klaus: 17**

**Kol: 5**

**Finn: 3**

**Damon: 5**

**Elijah & Klaus: 1**

**Elijah & Klaus & Kol: 1**

**Damon & Klaus: 1**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	9. A few foolish once good men

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

Elena woke up groggily and sat up slowly. When she saw Ben sitting in a chair by the end of the bed, she was lying on she remembered what had happened. She looked around the room for a way out and stared at the front door.

Quietly slipping of the bed, Elena slowly stepped over Ben’s outstretched legs and backed away towards the door. As she made it to the door, she looked back towards Ben to make sure he hadn’t woken up and then she unlocks the deadbolt and as gently as possible she turned the lock on the door so she could open the it.

“I wouldn’t.” A voice said from behind her.

“Shit!” Elena cursed as she spun around and tried her best to punch Ben who was standing just a few inches away from her.

“Don’t try and escape.” Ben said while he stared into her eyes after he caught her hand. “Don’t even move. Do you understand?”

“I understand.” Elena tried to sound as emotionless as possible and from the scoff Ben gave as he turned around it seemed to have worked. Then Elena quickly opened the door and bolted out.

“Seriously?!” Anna growled as she pushed Elena back into the motel room again.

“Oh, it’s you.” Elena groaned. “The psychotic little girl that’s stalking my brother.”

“I told her not to move.” Ben said before Anna could register what Elena had said. “I did that eye thing you thought me!”

“And you forgot the lesson on vervain!” Anna glared at Ben. “She’s dating a vampire, Ben. Duh!”

Anna dragged Elena over to the bathroom as Elena quietly wondered why people kept assuming she and Stefan were dating, and forcefully pushed her in and then she shut the door.

“Ow!” Elena groaned as she hit the sink, then she screamed through the door at Anna. “Get fucked by a cactus you bitch!”

“Ugh.” Elena turned toward the bathtub when she heard a groan.

“Bonnie?!” Elena rushed over to her groaning friend.

“Elena?” Bonnie asked slowly.

“No, I'm the ghost of Christmas past.” Elena deadpanned even as she pulled Bonnie in to a hug.

“Oh my God!” Bonnie gasped. “Ben is a…”

“Vampire? Yeah it would look like that, huh.” Elena shrugged.

“I'm so stupid!” Bonnie scowled at herself.

“You're not stupid Bonnie, he had us all fooled.” Elena hugged her again while quietly planning to start wearing a vervain-soaked string around her hand every time she met new people. That way when she shook their hand she would automatically know if they were vampires or not.

“What’s going on?” Bonnie asked. “Where are we?”

Elena quickly told Bonnie a summarized version on what was going on and finished with, “I didn’t want to drag you into all of this.”

“Why did you try and keep me out of it?” Bonnies voice sounded accusing.

“They need a witch to open the tomb and let the vampires out.” Elena admitted. “I was going to ask a friend of Damons to help so you didn’t have to be pulled in and put in danger.”

Ben slammed the door open and stalked into the tiny bathroom as Elena placed Bonnie protectively behind her.

“You are wasting your time.” Bonnie declared, trying to sound strong and unafraid and Elena wasn’t going to be the one to tell her that it didn’t really work. “I'm not going to help you.”

Ben smirked darkly and grabbed Elena by the hair. “That’s why she’s here, motivation for you to behave. You know, you shouldn’t be so desperate, you made it too easy.”

Elena growled and tried to kick Ben between the legs as hard as she could. Sadly, Ben had just turned away to push Elena into the motel room so she only kicked his leg.

“Bitch!” Ben shouted as he violently threw Elena on the floor of the motel as he quickly shut the door to the bathroom.

“You are pathetic.” Elena called out to him from the floor.

“Don’t hurt her too much, Ben, we need her as leverage.” Anna said from where she was looking through the curtains.

“Bonnies not going to help you open the tomb.” Elena told Anna as she got up from the floor painfully, she probably had some bruised ribs or something.

“Oh, I think she will.” Anna muttered with certainty.

“So, who is it?” Elena asked.

“What?” Anna finally turned towards Elena.

“The one you want to rescue from the tomb?” Elena already knew it was her mother but whatever, she could stall and make conversation at the same time. “Because I assume it’s not Kathrine.”

“Only Damon, the love-struck fool, wants to see that girl again.” Anna groaned. “I want to get my mother out of that tomb. I watched as Jonathan Gilbert took her away.”

“That sucks.” Elena hummed.

“We are skipping the whole dead mom bonding thing and going straight to you serving your purpose.” Anna growled.

“Leverage?” Elena sighed.

“This yours?” Anna held up Elenas phone. She dials a number and waits. “She’s fine, for now. Tell me you have the grimoire and she’ll stay fine.”

Anna paused as she listened to the person on the other end. “Which means your brother has it. And I have a witch, so one if you had better meet me in the very public town square in 30 minutes so we can safely discuss how fun it’s going to be to bork together.” After that Anna hung up the phone.

“I’m leaving!” Anna called out and Ben opened the bathroom door and led Bonnie out. “Keep them here, compulsion won’t works so just use violence.”

“Right, I got this.” Ben nodded and pushed Bonnie onto the bed as Anna left. “So, you are the key to the door, huh? Tell me, how long have you been a witch?”

“Is there anything to drink here?” Elena asked as she remembered Bonnies fire trick from the show.

“Are you offering?” Ben leered at her. “There’s water on the night stand.”

“Can I have a sip?” Bonnie asked as Elena had predicted and she had to hide her smirk behind the glass.

“Of course.” Elena smiled and handed over the glass.

Bonnie quickly tossed the water on Ben and set in on fire while she and Elena ran for the door. Bonnie was out the door when she heard Elena gasp and when she turned around, she saw Ben holding Elena by the throat.

“Come back in!” Ben told her with a glare.

“No, Bonnie, run!” Elena ordered her friend.

“Come in and shut the door!” Ben tightened his grip around Elenas throat and Elena couldn’t help but wonder what it was with everyone’s insistent need to choke her.

“Don’t hurt her!” Bonnie pleaded as she slowly walked back into the motel room.

“That all depends on you.” Ben growled. “Lock the door.”

“Now let her go!” Bonnie begged after she had locked the door.

“With pleasure.” Ben smirked and threw Elena down on one of the beds.

“Does it make you feel better about yourself when you hurt young girls?” Elena croaked out with a sneer as she rubbed her neck. She hated calling herself a ‘young girl’ but needs must and all that. “That truly is pathetic.”

“Elena, please stop agonizing the vampire.” Bonnie pleaded, not wanting to see him hurt her even more.

“You should listen to your friend.” Ben glared at Elena who scoffed but didn’t say anything.

“Witch’s don’t have eternal life, right?” Ben asked Bonnie after a while. “So, you guy can die?”

“Yes, we can die.” Bonnie muttered quietly.

Suddenly the door was kicked in and Ben screamed as the sunlight started to burn his skin. Stefan, the one who had kicked in the door, quickly rips the curtains open to allow more sunlight into the room.

“Stefan.” Elena croaked with a smile as she and Bonnie hurried past him and outside.

“Are you two okay?” Stefan asked as he joined them a little while later.

“I'm fine, just a little shook up.” Bonnie admitted. “But Ben hurt Elena.”

“How did you find us?” Elena whispered as to not put too much pressure on her throat.

“Bonnies grandmother helped by using a locator spell while Damon distracted Anna.” Stefan explained.

XOXOXOX

Elena walked into the parlor in the boarding house just as Damon put on a jacket to leave.

“So, the plan worked.” Damon smirked as he looked up at her.

“Thank you, Damon, for your help.” Elena smiled at him, her voice sounding like she had been smoking and drinking for years.

“You're very welcome.” Damon looked cocky but had a glint of something vulnerable in his eyes.

“I talked to Bonnie and her Grams and they have agreed to help us open the tomb.” Elena informed him as she fiddled with her scarf.

“I thought you didn’t want to involve the Bennett witch?” Damon asked then frowned. “What’s with the scarf?”

“I was going to ask Bree to help us with the tomb actually but Bonnies Grams said that it would be better and easier for a Bennett witch to break Bennett magic or something like that.” Elena shrugged.

“And the scarf?” Damon asked again when it seemed like Elena wasn’t going to answer.

Elena slowly pulled the scarf away from her neck to show the hand shaped bruise around her throat, “Seems like a lot of people have a thing about choking me.” She shrugged with a small chuckle. “I mean choking during sex might be fun but that would at least be consensual.”

“Why didn’t Stefan give you his blood to heal that?” Damon softly touched her neck.

“I didn’t show him at first and then I forgot about it until I started talking again.” Elena looked down with a shrug.

“You can have some of my blood if you want.” Damon hesitated, like he expected her to turn him down because he wasn’t Stefan.

“That would be appreciated.” Elena smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

Damon bit into his wrist and held it out to Elena who grasped it gently and took a couple of mouthfuls.

“Are you ready to get Kathrine back?” Elena asked as they walked out of the boarding house together a few minutes later, still having that niggling feeling of having forgot something important when it came to Kathrine.

“Definitely.” Damon smiled brightly with excitement and picked Elena up bridal style to vamp-sped them to the woods.

When they arrived, there was a party in full swing and Elena hummed. “Right, the Duke party, I forgot.”

“Worried Kathrine will eat them?” Damon smirked at her.

“As long as she leaves my friends and family alone and is discreet, she can go for it.” Elena shrugged and then she smiled as Caroline and Matt walked up to them.

“Hey Elena.” Matt smiled.

“Hello my emotional support bitch.” Caroline laughed and hugged Elena then she stepped back and intertwined her fingers with Matt. “Where have you been?”

“Long story, no time to tell it.” Damon said.

“I can tell you tomorrow if you want?” Elena smiled at Caroline in happiness as she subtly nodded at Carolines and Matts hands in approval.

“We haven’t met.” Matt held out his hand towards Damon. “I'm Matt.”

“There's a reason we haven’t met, Matt.” Damon muttered as he gently grabbed Elenas arm and started to pull her towards the old church. “You and I are going this way.”

“Sorry my dudes, but I seem to have other plans.” Elena laughed as she was pulled away from Caroline and Matt.

As they arrived at the church, they heard Bonnies Grams ask if Stefan was sure that Damon and Elena would come.

Damon whistled loudly to get their attention. “Brother, witches.” He strode past them with Elena walking calmy behind him with a small smile.

“Is everything ready?” Elena asked as she looked around.

“I guess so.” Bonnie hummed.

Bonnie walked over to Sheila and Stefan as Sheila lights the torches while Damon and Elena watches from the entrance.

“Air, earth, fire.” Sheila recited.

“Water.” Bonnie held up a towards Sheila who takes it and sprinkle the water on the floor.

“Slightly disappointed that it’s just tap water.” Elena whispered to Damon who snorted quietly and Stefan, who had heard her, smiled.

“What’s that?” Stefan asked as he saw Damon unravel something he pulled from his pocket.

“A blood bag for Kathrine.” Damon shrugged. “Gotta have something to get her going and I didn’t think it would be a smart idea to have Elena offer a vein.”

“If you had asked, I would have agreed.” Elena smiled at him.

“You would trust an unknown vampire enough to drink from you without draining you?” Damon looked disbelievingly at her.

“No, but I do trust you to not let it get that far.” Elena looked earnestly up at him.

“Admit it.” Damon turned to Stefan to hide his shock. “You can’t wait to get rid of me.”

“I actually like having you around but I know that you and Kathrine can’t stay.” Stefan smiled sadly. “But, promise me that you’ll keep in contact, at least?”

“Hmm.” Damon hummed.

“We’re ready.” Bonnie told them as she stood up from the ground.

Sheila and Bonnie started to recite a spell that would open the tomb with their hands clasped and eyes closed.

“What are they saying?” Damon muttered.

“Sounds like Latin.” Stefan murmured back.

“Archaic Latin, actually.” Elena told them. In her last life her grandfather had collected old and rare books so she had seen and heard some very old languages.

“That was pretty cool.” Elena said after a few minutes as the torches flared up and the tomb creaked open.

“It worked!” Bonnie said exhilarated.

“Of course, it worked.” Sheila smirked.

“I’ll go build some fires.” Stefan said and made his way out to where they had placed the gasoline.

“You ready?” Damon asked Elena.

“Absolutely.” Elena nodded at the same time as Sheila and Bonnie asked “What?”

“You think I'm gonna go in there by myself so you can seal me in?” Damon asked as if they were stupid for even thinking it.

“Don’t take her in.” Sheila demanded. “I’ll bring the walls down.”

“You’ll bring the walls down if I don’t.” Damon sneered. “You think I trust you?”

“As much as I trust you.” Sheila glared.

“Enough!” Elena snapped. “It is my choice and I actually offered to go in with him.”

“My lady, shall we?” Damon offered his left arm to Elena while he grabbed a torch with his right.

“We shall, good sir.” Elena giggled.

They had been walking around the tomb for a while when Elena started to hear whispers or something. “What is that?”

“They can sense you.” Damon murmured quietly.

“They won’t suddenly jump up and try and bite me, right?” Elena asked softly.

“No, they are to desiccated to move at the moment.” Damon reassured her.

“Okay, that’s good.” Elena smiled. “That means we can split up and cover more ground in the search for Kathrine.”

“Good idea.” Damon started to go left. “Scream if you find her or if you need help.”

“Like a three-year-old who’s seen a spider.” Elena assured as she walked down the corridor on the right.

Elena walked around the tomb looking for a mummified version of herself, which was very weird if you thought about it, but at least she would find out if she would make a pretty corps, right?

“Here, Kathrine, Kathrine, Kathrine.” Elena called out with a soft giggle. “Here girl.”

The further in the tomb she gets the more vampires she sees. Suddenly she fell down after having tripped over the legs of a mummified vampire and as she looked up, she saw that his eyes were open and bloodshot with hunger.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Elena murmured. “No one deserves this.”

Elena got up slowly with a sad look at the vampire and decided that what Emily did wasn’t saving these people but torturing them, driving them slowly insane with hunger and pain.

As she turned around, she gasped in surprise when she saw Anna standing a couple of feet away from her. “Oh look, it’s my brother’s stalker, joy.” Elena grumbled sarcastically.

“Your boyfriend did this you know.” Anna sneered at her as she fell on her knees besides her mother’s mummified body.”

“We’re not…eh never mind” Elena muttered. “And his father did.”

“And Jonathan Gilbert.” Anna said as she stroked her mother’s hair. “And I made a choice a long time ago that it would be Gilbert blood that brought her back to life. I had Jeremy all ready to go but…”

“Jeremy?” Elena gasped and turned around to run to check on her little brother. But Anna managed to vamp-sped in front of her, grab her wrist and bite down, making Elena scream in shock and pain.

“I'm going to get you out.” Anna muttered to her mother as she pushed Elena down across Pearls lap and held her wrist to Pearls mouth.

“You could have just asked, you bitch!” Elena growled out as Pearl begins to drink.

“Let her go!” Stefan snarled as he pushed Anna of Elena and helped her up. Then he pushed Elena gently towards the exit, “Go, I’ll be right behind you.”

Elena ran out of the tomb while holding her bleeding wrist against her chest. She stopped right outside the door to be able to wrap her scarf around her wrist as a makeshift bandage.

“Elena, Stefan…” Bonnie started to say.

“He’s right behind me.” Elena reassured.

Both Bonnie and Sheila looked sadly towards the entrance of the tomb and Elena turned around to see Stefan standing in the door way.

“Stefan, what are you doing?” Elena walked over to him.

“It’s going to be okay.” Bonnie muttered quickly. “We’ll fix it.”

“Fix what?” Elena asked dangerously.

“I can’t leave.” Stefan smiled sadly at Elena and sent a glare towards the witches.

“What do you mean?” Elena looked between Stefan and the Bennett witches.

“The spell is still up.” Bonnie explained. “We can’t get them out yet.”

“What?” Elena started at Bonnie in complete betrayal. “How could you?!”

“Even if we’re able to break through the seal, we won’t be able to hold it for long.” Sheila informed them, avoiding Elenas dark glare.

“I’ll go look for Damon and Kathrine and tell them to hurry up.” Stefan said and disappeared back into the tomb.

“I think it’s working.” Elena said after Bonnie and Sheila had been chanting for a while.

“I just wanted my mother back.” Anna said quietly as she helped her mother out of the tomb. “Jeremy’s fine, he's outside and I promise not to touch him.”

“Keep going, Bonnie” Sheila ordered as the torches started to falter and then she turned toward Elena. “They better hurry.”

Elena rushed back into the tomb as she noticed the strain the witches was under. She heard the entrance end of the argument between Stefan and Damon as she rushed into the room.

“Damon, please.” Elena pleaded and softly grabbed his hand.

Damon didn’t say anything but he squeezed her hand and let her lead him out of the tomb.

Elena walked out of the tomb first, quickly followed by Damon and Stefan. As soon as they were clear Elena turned around and pulled Damon into a tight hug. She decided to not say anything about his shaking body or the wetness on her neck but she refused to let go, even when Bonnie passed out.

After a while Damon pulled back but didn’t let go of Elenas hand, which made him follow her as she walked out of the church and over to her little brother.

Stefan knelt down to check on Jeremy as he started to wake up. “He’s all right.”

“Did anyone see the truck that hit me?” Jeremy asked as he sat up.

“No but the vampire who hit you is dead if that helps you feel better.” Stefan smiled and helped Jeremy to his feet.

“It does actually.” Jeremy nodded and rubbed the back of his head, then he flinched in pain when he touched a certain spot.

“Here.” Stefan bit into his wrist and held it out to Jeremy. “This way you won’t have to worry about a concussion.”

“Thank man.” Jeremy took the wrist gratefully.

Damon silently offered his own bleeding wrist to Elena, having smelled that she was bleeding. Elena smiled at him in thanks and leaned against him in silent support.

Around two hours later after having dropped Bonnie and Sheila off at Sheila’s place all the while refusing to speak to either off them, Elena walked into Jeremys room dressed in her sleep cloths. “How are you feeling?”

“Physically I feel fine.” Jeremy hummed and made room on the bed for Elena. “Emotionally? I don’t really know. In one way I feel sad because I actually liked Anna and, in another way, I feel pissed at her for risking your life when she could have done like Damon did and brought a blood bag.”

“You seem to have really bad luck when it comes to girls.” Elena laughed.

“Maybe I just haven’t found the right person yet.” Jeremy murmured as the both of them started to fall asleep.

“Don’t think I didn’t catch that you said person instead of girl.” Elena mumbled.

“Go to sleep, Lena.” Jeremy hugged her closer and slowly fell into the wonderful world of dreams.

XOXOXOX

A few days later Elena was sitting on the porch swing crocheting while letting her thoughts run in whatever direction they want. She hadn’t talked to Bonnie since her Grams funeral, still feeling betrayed by what the Bennett witches had planned to do in the tomb.

“What are you doing out here?” Jenna asked as came over while sipping on her coffee.

“Thinking, crocheting, planning world domination.” Elena shrugged.

“So, the usual then?” Jenna laughed.

“Yeah, basically.” Elena smiled back.

“So, you remember how I told you I would do some digging about the adoption?” Jenna asked and at Elenas interested not she continued. “Well, I might have found something. Come inside and I’ll tell you.”

Elena put away her work in her special hobby bag and followed Jenna. As the two of the sat down at the dinner table, Jenna pulled out her laptop. “Your dad kept everything from his medical practice – records, logs, old appointment books, etc. I found an entry from the night you were born. Patient and a birth date; Isobel Peterson.”

“But you don’t think that is her real name, do you?” Elena looked at Jenna with a frown.

“Pregnant teenage runaway? Probably not. First name, maybe. But where’d she get Peterson? Classmate? Best friend? So, I binged it.” Jenna pulled up the right internet page and typed in a name in the search engine. “I searched for all the Petersons in this area born the same year as Isobel and found 3 – 2 men and a woman, Trudie, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia.”

“That’s not far from here.” Elena hummed softly.

“Watch this.” Jenna typed something else into the search engine and pulled up and image of Isobel from high school.

“So that’s Isobel.” Elena just looked at the screen.

“Trudie still lives there.” Jenna smiled and handed Elena a post-it note with an address on it. “This is her address.”

“Aunt Jenna, if the whole psychology thing doesn’t work out you could start your own business as a private investigator.” Elena told Jenna, impressed, making Jenna blush at the compliment.

“Sadly, I couldn’t find anything about Isobel.” Jenna frowned uncertainly. “There is something else though. Ric, Mr. Saltzman, his wife was from around here and her name was Isobel.”

“Wait, ‘was’ as in…?” Elena asked.

“She died.” Jenna said softly.

Well, they weren’t wrong, per say, Isobel was dead, just not completely. Wait a minute…if Ric had been/was technically still married to her biological mother that made him her stepfather, right?? And he was also dating her aunt making him her sort of step-uncle…

‘Oh My God…this sounds more and more like the plot of a very, very bad porn flick by the minute.’ Elena thought in disgust.

A couple of hours later Elena was folding her laundry as she talked to Stefan who was sitting on her bed.

“So, Alaric’s wife might have been your biological mother?” Stefan asked shocked.

“The way my life is going, it wouldn’t fucking surprise me.” Elena muttered. “I have the address for her friend Trudie.”

“You wanna talk to her?” Stefan asked gently.

“I don’t know. Both yes and no.” Elena shrugged. “I’ll admit to being curious.”

“Elena did Jenna tell you anything about Alaric’s wife?” Stefan wondered. “How she died?”

“No, just that she was killed and the case was never solved.” Elena looked over at him and when she saw that he wasn’t surprised she said. “You already knew.”

“The night at the school when I went to get the journal, he told me some things about her death.”

“Hmm.” Elena hummed as she put the last of her laundry way.

“I should get going.” Stefan said as he stood up. “I'm going to check on Damon.”

“How is he doing?” Elena wanted to know, not having heard anything from Damon since they had opened the tomb.

“He’s coping in his own way but I'm still worried.” Stefan confessed.

“Go to him but don’t force him to talk, just be there when he needs you.” Elena advised.

XOXOXOX

Elena stood looking at a house that matched the address on her post-it note. “Thank you for going with me today, Caroline.” She murmured as she slowly walked up the steps to knock on the front door but hesitates uncertainly.

“Are you going to knock or not?” Caroline asked from beside her. “And you are very welcome.”

“Yeah, right, of course.” Elena smiled awkwardly and knocked, when nothing happened Lena turned to leave a woman opened the door.

“Trudie? Trudie Peterson?” Elena asked gently.

“Yes?” The answered looking between Elena and Caroline.

“My name is Elena Gilbert and this is my best friend Caroline Forbes.” Elena introduced the both of them. “I wanted to talk about Isobel Flemming.”

“Well, I haven’t heard that name in years.” Trudie hummed. “How do you know her?”

“Do you know if she had a baby that she gave up for adoption?” Elena asked.

“My god, you're her daughter.” Trudie laughed. “I was just going to make some tea, would you two like some?”

“That would be very nice, thank you.” Elena smiled as Caroline nodded.

“Kitchens this way.” Trudie opened the door for them to pass and Elena narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

Elena and Caroline are led into a room that’s connected to the kitchen and offered seats and a mug each.

“I wasn’t going to come but then I thought that I would regret it if I didn’t.” Elena tried to explain. “I'm sorry for just showing up though.”

“It’s no problem, just a bit of a surprise.” Trudie reassured. “I haven’t thought about Isobel in years.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Caroline asked when Elena hesitated.

“About 17 years ago, when she left to go have you.” The last part Trudie directed towards Elena. “We kept in touch for a while, but, well, you know, people drift apart.”

“And you have no idea where she ended up?” Elena wondered.

“I know that she was in Florida for a while, she was on her own and it wasn’t easy.” Trudie shrugged.

“Do you have any idea of who my father is?” Elena asked, more for Carolines benefit, already knowing who her biological father was.

“I could never get her to fess up.” Trudie informed her. “Anyway, Isobel finally pulled it together and got into college on a scholarship.”

“Where did she go?” Caroline leaned forward.

“Somewhere in North Carolina.” Trudie hummed. “Duke, I think. Smart girl, smart school.”

When the kettle started to whistle Trudie excused herself to go get it from the kitchen. When she got back from the kitchen, she carried both the tea and a photo album in her arms.

Trudie pointed at a picture of Trudie and Isobel dressed as cheerleaders after she had poured the tea for the three of them, “They came for us. The football team hadn’t won in years so we were the stars.”

“Now we know where you get it from.” Caroline smiled at Elena.

“You’re a cheerleader?” Trudie asked.

“I was but Caroline is cheer captain.” Elena proudly brags about her best friend.

“Is something wrong?” Trudie asked them. “You haven’t touched your tea.”

“Oh, yeah.” Elena took a slow sip and frowned. “What is this?”

“Oh, it’s just some herbal mixture.” Trudie shrugged.

“Vervain.” Elena stated.

“I thought I recognized the smell.” Caroline muttered.

“You know.” Elena looked straight at Trudie.

“Know what?” Trudie shifted and looked around.

“You didn’t invite us in and you're serving vervain tea.” Elena pointed out seriously. “That leads me to the conclusion that you know about vampires.”

“I think that you should leave now.” Trudie stood up.

“Fine by me.” Elena muttered. “Thank you for your hospitality and for the tea, not that you needed that.”

“And why is that?” Trudie asked.

“We both wear jewelry filled with vervain.” Caroline sneered and then she and Elena walked out without another word.

XOXOXOX

After Elena had dropped Caroline off at Matt’s place she walked into the boarding house and up to Stefans room. “Stefan?”

“Better.” Damons walked out of the bathroom in low hanging jeans and without a shirt. “Me.”

“You look, um…” Elena stared at the pale sculpted torso.

“Dashing? Gorgeous? Irresistible?” Damon smirked as he walked closer to her and Elena put a hand on his chest when he got a little too close.

“All of the above.” Elena shrugged, like it was no big deal. “And a bit wrecked.”

“Did you know that I'm one of Mystic Fall’s most eligible bachelors?” Damon purred at her.

“Am I supposed to be impressed?” Elena sassed with a smirk, the smirked then melted into a gentle smile. “How are you doing?”

“Never better.” Damon walked over to the closet and put on a button up shirt. “What can I do for you? I'm a barrel of favors today. It’s my new found purpose – how can I help people?”

“I'm just meeting Stefan.” Elena laughed. “We are going to the fundraiser. I convinced him to help Jenna buy enough tickets so she could win Alaric.”

“Help a guy out, will you?” Damon turned to her, showing that he had trouble with the buttons. “Can’t get this.”

“So, I found out who my birth mother is.” Elena told him as she buttons up his shirt.

“Egh, who cares?” Damon muttered and at Elenas look he elaborated. “She left you, she sucks.”

“Well, you're not wrong about that.” Elena agreed and did her best not to laugh at the unintentional vampire joke. Then she looked behind Damon and smiled. “Hey Stefan.”

Damon walked over and pulled on a jacket and groaned, “Ugh, I need a bigger jacket. Wow you know, an occasional sorority girl might, um, you know, help fill you out a little.”

Elena giggled and asked, “Does that actually matter or is it more along the lines of you basically looking the same as when you were turned?”

“If you don’t drink enough blood you get thinner but you will never really grow muscles you didn’t have as a human either.” Damon told her as he threw the jacket on Stefans bed and walked out of the room.

“He is so lost.” Elena sadly as she looked at Damons retreating back. “Drowning in pain with no end in sight.”

“He has always been the strong one, the one who never lets anything hurt him.” Stefan murmured. “Seeing him so hurt and sad… I want to help but I don’t know how.”

“We will simply show silent support and let him know that we are here if he needs us.” Elena declared.

“We?” Stefan smiled at her.

“Of course, I'm going to help.” Elena vowed. “Damon is my friend!”

“Thank you.” Stefan hugged her.

“For what?” Elena looked confused even as she hugged back.

“For being you.” Stefan pulled back.

“Well, who else should I be?” Elena asked him with a raised eyebrow. “The Easter Bunny?”

Stefan burst out laughing, then at Elenas look he explained. “Sorry…sorry… it’s just…. I got the picture…of you…in a giant…bunny onesie.” At the end of the explanation he had tears running down his face from laughter and Elena had started to giggle along with him.

Around ten minutes later they had managed to calm down and Stefan asked. “How did yours and Carolines trip go today?”

“Trudie knew about vampires.” Elena told him. “She refused to explicitly invite us in, she just opened the door and then she served vervain tea.”

“You were right, it seems.” Stefan groaned and pulled out a photo. “Alaric’s dead wife was your biological mother.”

“That’s Isobel.” Elena said as she looked at the picture. “Did Ric give this to you?”

“Yeah and everything Alaric knows about vampires he learned from Isobel.” Stefan sighed. “He thinks she was killed by one.”

“Huh, that sucks.” Elena mumbled, then she giggled. “Haha ‘sucks’.”

“Listen Elena, there is a lot about Isobel that Alaric can tell you, but you need to hold off for a little while before you talk to him.” Stefan looked at her seriously.

“Stefan, what are you not telling me?” Elena looked him straight in the eyes.

“Elena…” Stefan started but a slight glare from Elena made him sigh. “Alaric is convinced that Damon killed Isobel.”

“Okay.” Elena shrugged and started to walk out of Stefans room. “So, let’s ask him.”

When they made it down stairs Damon was putting on a jacket, ready to leave for the bachelor raffle.

“Hey Damon, can we ask you something?” Elena asked with a smile.

“You just did.” Damon smirked. “But because it’s you who asked I guess you can ask another one.”

“This is Isobel.” Stefan held out the photo. “From North Carolina. Do you remember her?”

“Why so interested?” Damon sneered.

“She’s my biological mother.” Elena explained and then, with no judgement at all, she asked. “Did you kill her?”

“Elena I'm so drunk that I don’t even remember the faces of who I killed last week.” Damon told her softly.

“Can you call me or something if you do remember her?” Elena asked him.

“Absolutely.” Damon smiled at her, straightened his posture and plastered his usual smirk on his face. “Are you two coming? The Real Housewives of Mystic Falls await.”

XOXOXOX

When the three of them arrived at the grill Damon separated from them to walk over to the bar and Stefan was stopped by an older woman who started to flirt with him. Elena smirked and left him to his faith while she walked over to where she saw a laughing Caroline and a blushing Matt.

“Hey guys.” Elena smiled at them.

“Hey Elena.” Matt muttered while Caroline beamed at her.

“What’s so funny?” Elena looked at Caroline for the answer.

“Matt’s already been hit on, like, 35 times.” Caroline giggled. “He’s total cougar bait.”

“Not bad Matt.” Elena chuckled.

“It’s embarrassing.” Matt muttered with a blush.

“Hey, Mrs. Donovan.” Caroline smiled at Matt’s mom who had walked up to them.

“Elena, honey.” Kelly smiled at Elena and pulled her in to an awkward hug while ignoring Caroline.

“Hi, Mrs. Donovan.” Elena forced herself not to sneer at her for the way she treated Caroline.

“Long time, no see.” Kelly looked at Elena.

“How are you doing?” Elena plastered a fake smile on her face.

“Oh, same old.” Kelly shrugged. “Matty tells me you broke his heart.”

“I guess we have that in common you and I.” Elena smiled innocently. “But I at least only broke it once.”

“Mom!” Matt called out even as he was shocked by Elenas response.

“Just kidding, calm down. He found his rebound girl.” Kelly glared lightly at Elena, then she glanced at Caroline and hands her some money. “Here you go sweetheart, however many that’ll buy.”

Caroline accepted the money and walked away with a small forced smile. Would it be possible to ‘accidentally’ trip Matt’s mother or should she just ask Damon to eat her? Elana thought to herself.

“I just hope I don’t get Bachelor 3. I dated him in high school. Not impressive,” Kelly leaned in to whisper. “in any way.”

“Who are you hoping for then?” Elena asked just to mess with Matt who looked a little green.

“You see the guy over there.” Kelly nodded over to where Damon was talking to Carol Lockwood. “He is absolutely dreamy.”

“You mean Damon Salvatore?” Elena smirked.

“You know him?” Kelly turned her whole attention towards Elena.

“You could say that.” Elena said without elaborating just as Stefan walked up to them.

“You are on cruel young woman.” Stefan told Elena. “You left me there, alone!”

“Did the big bad cougars scare you?” Elena smirked.

“Oh, just shut up.” Stefan groaned.

“Hello.” Kelly held out her hand towards Stefan, trying to look flirty and seductive as she obviously undressed him with her eyes. “I'm Kelly Donovan.”

“Stefan Salvatore.” Stefan introduced himself politely if a tad stiffly.

Caroline came back with a few tickets and Kelly hummed. “Very exciting.” And the she walked further into the grill.

“I am so sorry, Stefan.” Matt groaned with embarrassment.

“It’s okay, Matt, it’s not your fault.” Stefan reassured him.

Elena and Stefan made their way over to where Jenna was sitting with a lot of tickets.

“You think you bought her enough?” Elena whispered to Stefan.

“Dear god, I hope so.” Stefan muttered back.

“Hey, aunt Jenna.” Elena hugged Jenna before she sat down.

“Elena, Stefan.” Jenna smiled and hugged Elena back, then she shocked Stefan by hugging him to.

“Jenna.” Stefan smiled slightly at her.

“How about we start this raffle!” Carol Lockwood called out from the stage where she was standing with the five bachelors and the woman in the grill cheered.

“Bachelor number 1,” Carol walked up to a dark-haired middle-aged man with glasses. “What is your name?”

“Hank Brown.” The man introduced himself with a handsome smile.

“And what do you do for a living, Hank?” Carol asked.

“I’m a chef at a small restaurant just outside of Mystic Falls.” Hank told her.

“Well, well, ladies, it seems like the man can cook and if you are lucky, he might just cook you something special on your date.” Carol teased the woman in the room and then she moved on to a handsome, muscular man in his late twenties. “Bachelor number 2, what’s your name?”

“Eddie Garcia, ma’am.” The second bachelor introduced himself.

“Oh, ma’am, huh?” Carol pretended to fan herself. “What do you do for a living?”

“I’m in the navy, ma’am.” Eddie smiled.

“A man in a uniform.” Carol smirked and moved on.

“You ever wear a uniform, Stefan?” Jenna asked, mostly just teasing.

“I did join up for service in World War II.” Stefan admitted quietly to Jenna and Elena.

“Thank you for your service.” Elena kissed him on the cheek and Jenna hugged him again as she nodded in agreement.

“You're welcome.” Stefan whispered and looked at Elena in awe and gratefulness.

“And what do you do, Bachelor number 3?” Carol asked up at the stage when Elena tuned in again.

“Yeah, I'm a plumber.” The man answered.

“Oh, so sexy.” Jenna drawled sarcastically, making Elena giggle and Stefan smile.

“Moving on. Bachelor number 4.” Carol hurried over to Ric. “Alaric Saltzman, that’s quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?”

“I'm a teacher at Mystic falls High.” Alaric answered even as he looked highly uncomfortable.

“Oh, beauty and brains, ladies.” Carol smiled at the crowed. “This one’s a keeper. What do you teach?”

Elena snorted and at the looks from Jenna and Stefan she mumbled out, “Keeper…Quidditch…Harry Potter.”

“History.” Ric said form the stage.

“History. Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy.” Carol looked at Alaric who seemed to get a brain freeze or something, so she saved him from making a fool out of himself. “He’s probably saving the best stories for his date.”

When Carol approached Damon, Elena smiled and whispered so only Jenna, Stefan and Damon could hear her. “You got this, Damon, don’t forget that you are epic.”

“Yeah, you go big brother.” Stefan smirked up at his brother with a teasing glint in his eyes.

“And last but not least, Damon Salvatore.” Carol said into the microphone. “We don’t know much about you.”

“Well, I'm though to fit on a card.” Damon smirked.

“Dude, you would need a whole book.” Elena laughed along with Stefan and Jenna.

“Do you have any hobbies? Like to travel?” Carol asked with a smile.

“Oh, yeah. L.A, New York and a couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina. Near the Duke campus actually.” Damon turned to look at Alaric. “You went to school there, didn’t you Ric?” Damon started to smirk. “I know your wife did. I had a drink with her once. She was a great girl, really…delicious.”

Elena stood up and walked out with shaking shoulders and Stefan hurried after her. When they got outside Stefan opened his mouth to ask if she was okay when Elena burst out laughing.

“He basically just told everyone in there that he ate Alaric’s wife and they had no idea.” Elena’s laughter brought a smile to Stefans face. “That was awesome.”

“And you don’t care that Damon killed your biological mother?” Stefan asked slowly.

“Should I?” Elena shrugged. “She didn’t want me and seriously, if she knew so much about vampires and still got eaten by one, what does that say about her?”

“I guess you're right.” Stefan hummed, still getting used to think the way Elena had taught him to.

“Stefan.” Elena grabbed his arm as she looked at something down the street. “That man.”

“What about him?” Stefan asked as he turned to look.

“I saw him outside of Trudie’s” Elena informed him.

“Let’s go back inside and see if I did buy enough raffle tickets for Jenna.” Stefan told Elena and she started to walk inside but Stefan stayed outside for a few seconds to see what the man would do.

“Ow.” Elena stumbled as she ran into someone.

“Whoa, easy there.” Damon caught her around the waist. “Buy a ticket like everyone else.”

“Thanks for catching me.” Elena smiled up at him and then she laughed. “And I give you kudos for the whole ‘telling everybody I ate someone without actually telling them’ thing you did.”

“I remembered who the woman in the picture was when I read over the information Liz gave me. And I didn’t kill her, I turned her at her request.” Damon told her as Stefan walked up to them. “I hope I didn’t make you sad with the way I talked about your biological mom.”

“You didn’t.” Elena reassured. “As you said earlier, she gave me up, she sucks.”

“You are one of a kind.” Damon murmured and walked away but not before he patted Stefan on the arm.

“You okay?” Elena asked when Stefan just stood there.

“He patted my arm.” Stefan said in wonder.

“And?” Elena smiled at him, slightly confused.

“I can’t really remember the last time me and Damon had physical contact without fighting and pain.” Stefan’s smiled at that moment could light up a room.

“37649.” Carol called out from the stage and Elena saw Jenna raise her hand.

“That’s me!” Jenna beamed and walked up to carol.

“Congratulations.” Carol smiled at Jenna.

“You go aunt Jenna!” Elena called out smirk. “Have fun on your date and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

“Elena!” Jenna laughed as she tried to scold Elena while Ric blushed.

“What?” Elena smirked deviously.

“Stefan,” Jenna turned pleading eyes towards Stefan. “Get her out of here!”

“I’ll do my best.” Stefan smiled and started to lead Elena out of the grill.

Before they could get very far the man from earlier stepped in front of Elena.

“I have a message for you.” The man said.

“Huh?” Elena looked shocked and then she remembered, this man was sent by Isobel to tell her to stop digging.

“Who are you?” Stefan stepped forward to be able to protect Elena better.

“Stop looking.” The man completely ignored Stefan.

“For what? The meaning of life?” Elena asked sarcastically.

“She doesn’t want to know you.” The man said like Elena hadn’t asked anything. “She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Isobel.” Elena stated.

“You need to stop looking. Do you understand?” The man asked blankly.

“Elena, he’s under compulsion.” Stefan informed her.

“Do you understand?” The man sounded almost like a robot.

“I understand.” Elena said shortly.

“Good.” The man looked down the street. “I'm done now.”

The man stepped backwards into oncoming traffic. A large truck blared its horn but the driver had no time to react before the man was dead. Elena and Stefan ran into the street and Stefan kneeled down and looked at the man.

Elena on the other hand saw the man’s phone and felt a pressure in her head to pick it up and after fighting it for a few moments she bent down and picked up the phone.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Stefan led Elena away.

Around a half an hour later Elena walked into the boarding house after Elena had told Stefan off the phone she found. When they walked into the parlor, they saw Damon drinking by the fireplace and Alarics dead body on the floor.

“What happened?” Stefan rushed forward. “What did you do?”

“Stefan what did we say about accusations without the whole story?” Elena asked Stefan sharply before Damon could say anything.

“You're right.” Stefan looked over at Damon. “I'm sorry for accusing you without getting your side of the story.”

“That’s okay.” Damon said shocked, then he shook his head and continued. “He attacked me.”

“What happened?” Elena asked kindly.

“All I did was tell him the truth; his wife didn’t want him anymore.” Damon shrugged. “It’s not my fault he couldn’t handle it.”

“And he attacked you after that?” Stefan asked.

“Yeah, even tried staking me.” Damon chuckled. “He gets an A for effort.”

“So where are we burying the body?” Elena wondered, knowing Alaric would be back soon but decided to have a little fun. “We could freeze him and then put him in a wood chipper.”

“I like the way you think but we don’t have a freezer big enough.” Damon smiled at her.

Then Alaric sat up with a gasp suddenly, looking around in confusion. “What happened? What’s going on?”

“Did you turn him?” Stefan asked Damon shocked.

“No!” Damon exclaimed.

“You stabbed me!” Alaric glared at Damon.

“In self-defense.” Damon sneered.

“If Damon didn’t turn you, how are you alive?” Elena looked at Alaric seriously.

“Elena?!” Alaric looked shocked to see her. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s nonaya.” Elena smiled brightly.

“Nonaya?” Alaric asked.

“None of ya business.” Elena smirked. “Now again, did someone slip you vampire blood?”

“No, it’s something else.” Alaric flexed his hand. Then he proceeded to tell them about the ring and what Isobel had told him.

“Now there are magic rings?!” Elena groaned, “What is my life? I mean seriously. My history teacher is technically my stepfather and also my sort of step uncle, this really is turning into the bad plot for a porno.”

Damon burst out laughing after Elena was done with her mini rant, Stefan shook his head with a smile and Alaric looked ready to either faint or puke.

“I need to go.” Alaric was up and out of the house before Damon had managed to calm down.

“How do we know he won’t try and kill us?” Damon asked as he looked towards the door.

“We don’t.” Stefan shrugged. “But we’ll keep an eye on him.”

“So… what should I do with the phone?” Elena asked after a while.

“What phone?” Damon asked confused.

“Oh, right, we didn’t have time to tell you about that before Alaric woke up.” Stefan said and told him about the man at the grill that had been sent by Isobel.

“Call her.” Damon suggested.

“The only reason I might even think about calling her is to rip her a new one.” Elena growled. “I don’t really care if she kills people but if she does, she could do it her fucking self! Get her own hands dirty instead of compelling a man into committing suicide, that’s just cowardly on so many levels.”

“You are kinda hot when you are angry.” Damon murmured but luckily only Stefan heard him and nodded in agreement.

Elena picked up the phone with a glare and dialed the only number programed into it.”

“Was there a problem?” A female voice answered. “Did you find her? What’s going on?”

“The problem is that you are a coward and next time you want to tell me something?” Elena seethed. “Don’t!” Then she hung up the phone.

XOXOXOX

**_ This is a deleted scene that I was going to use first but I changed my mind. But I thought you all might want to read it, so, enjoy. _ **

_Elena realized she had a great opportunity._

_“You have a Gilbert ring.” Elena gasped, managing to sound very shocked._

_“Gilbert ring?” Damon and Stefan asked._

_“That ring he is wearing is a Gilbert ring.” Elena explained as she pointed at Alarics hand. “I read about them in the Gilbert journals, from what I could understand they were created as protection against supernatural death.”_

_“So, if I killed him again, he would just come back?” Damon asked then a smirk spread slowly over his face. “But if you killed him, he would stay dead?”_

_“In theory, yes.” Elena nodded, then she shrugged. “But I don’t know if me looking like Kathrine is supernatural or just freaky.”_

_“Were did you get the Gilbert ring?” Damon asked dangerously._

_“Isobel.” Alaric whispered, still shocked over everything that had happened but the thing that shocked him most was that Elena had talked about killing him without care. He looked up at her, “Would you really have killed me?”_

_“To save my family and friends?” Elena asked. “Without hesitation.”_

XOXOXOX

**A/N: chapter is now done!**

**I hope you all liked it :)**

**And now an important question: do you want some specific scene to be from Damons or Stefans perspective? Or do you guys like it when it’s just from Elenas perspective?**

**And who should I pair Elena with? You can review your option and I’ll tally them and the one who gets the most ‘votes’ so to speak, wins :)**

**The tally at the moment are:**

**Elijah: 25**

**Klaus: 27**

**Kol: 7**

**Finn: 3**

**Damon: 7**

**Elijah & Klaus: 2**

**Elijah & Klaus & Kol: 1**

**Damon & Klaus: 2**

**Klaus & Kol: 2**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	10. There goes the right neighborhood

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

A few days after the whole bachelor raffle Elena was making herself ready for another day at school while talking to Lexi on the phone.

“How’s that pretty brother of yours?” Lexi asked with a chuckle.

“Don’t you have Lee?” Elena asked as she put on a pair of blood red skinny jeans.

“Oh, that would be so hot.” Lexi sort of made a mocking moan over the phone. “Lee and your pretty brother on one bed, mhmm.”

“Lexi!” Elena mocked cringed and almost stabbed herself in the eye with her eyeliner.

“What?!” Lexi laughed. “Your brother is pretty right now but imagine in a year or two, he’s gonna be freaking gorgeous!”

“Yeah, I'm going to have to learn material arts or something to protect his virtue, aren’t I?” Elena hummed.

“Definitively.” Lexi agreed with a chuckled.

Elena walked out of her room to knock on Jeremys door. “Hey Jeremy,” She called through the door. “Can I borrow a hoddie?”

“Oh, tell your pretty brother hello from me and to stay sexy.” Lexi told Elena.

“Good morning, Lena.” A newly awoken Jeremy said as he opened the door with a smile and held out a maroon colored hoddie towards her.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled back at him then she gestured a little to her phone. “Oh, and Lexi asked me to tell my pretty brother ‘Hello’ and to ‘Stay sexy’.”

“Hey Lexi and stay epic.” Jeremy said with a blush, knowing that Lexi could hear every word.

“Oh, I just want to do very bad things to him.” Lexi teased Elena through the phone.

“I’ll see you later Jere.” Elena kissed Jeremy on the cheek, doing her best to ignore Lexi. “Love you.”

“Love you to, Lena.” Jeremy called after her as she walked down the stairs.

“I wish I could talk longer but it seems like Lee needs me for something.” Lexi told Elena. “I’ll text you later, bye, bye, beautiful.”

“Bye, bye gorgeous.” Elena said with a smile and ended the call.

“Were you talking to a boy?” Jenna asked hopefully making Elena jump, not having noticed her.

“Aunt Jenna!” Elena exclaimed as she mock glared at her aunt. “No, it wasn’t a boy, it was just Lexi.”

“Just ‘Lexi’ huh?” Jenna smirked with an eyebrow raised then she raised her hands in surrender. “I don’t judge.”

“Really aunt Jenna?” Elena laughed. “Would I date Lexi? Probably not, even though she’s awesome. Would I consider having sex with her? I just might, she’s gorgeous.”

Elena and Jenna just looked at each other for a while and then like a dam broke they started to laugh. Elena finally managed to calm down around 10 minutes later, put her on her knee high, high heeled boots and left for school with a quick hug from Jenna.

XOXOXOX

“Stefan!” Elena called out as she arrived at the school.

“Elena.” Stefan smiled when she walked up to him.

“I have a very important question.” Elena linked her arm with Stefan and started to walk into the school.

“Okay?” Stefan asked hesitantly.

“When it comes to vampires you have to invite them in, right?” Elena hummed.

“Yeah?” Stefan looked at her.

“But what counts as ‘inviting in’?” Elena wondered. “I mean do you have to say the words ‘Come in’ specifically or does it work with calling out ‘Enter’? Does a welcome Matt with the words ‘Welcome’ or ‘Come in’ count as an invite?”

“I…I actually don’t know.” Stefan looked thoughtful.

“Mhmm.” Elena hummed softly. “Do you think Damon would know?”

“Maybe.” Stefan shrugged. “You could always ask him, but…”

“But?” Elena asked.

“He has been very quiet these last few days and I'm worried about him.” Stefan admitted. “The whole thing with Kathrine and her not being in the tomb… I love my brother and I don’t want to see him so hurt and almost broken.”

“Come here.” Elena pulled Stefan into a gentle hug and murmured in his ear. “If you are worried just hug him. A hug can save lives and it has been scientifically proven that it makes people feel better.”

“I think it would give him a heart attack if I just walked up to him and hugged him.” Stefan chuckled but had to admitted that the hug helped him feel better.

“Can vampires have heart attacks?” Elena wondered as she pulled back.

“No idea.” Stefan laughed.

“Elena, Stefan.” Caroline smiled as she walked up to them.

“Caroline.” Stefan smiled back and Elena hugged her best friend.

“I need your help.” Caroline looked at them imploringly.

“What can we do for you?” Elena smiled. “Is it illegal?”

“No, it’s completely legal.” Caroline just looked at Elena.

“Oh.” Elena sighed.

“Why do you sound disappointed?” Caroline asked as Stefan laughed.

“No reason.” Elena denied and continued. “What can we help you with?”

“I know that you two are just friends but it would mean a lot to me if you guys could come on a double date with me and Matt.” Caroline rushed out. “It would be just fun with a few friends but also help with the awkwardness.”

Stefan and Elena looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. Elena then turned towards Caroline. “We’re in, but nothing too fancy.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Caroline bounced up and down as she hugged Elena and then Stefan. “It will be nothing to huge, just a dinner at the grill and then later maybe a movie.”

“Sounds fine.” Stefan chuckled.

“See you tonight.” Caroline beamed and walked away.

“Are we sure she’s human?” Elena murmured. “I mean, it can’t be normal to have that much energy and that much positivity in one body.”

“Really?” Stefan looked at Elena from the corner off his eye.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Elena huffed with a smile.

XOXOXOX

“Can I wear this?” Elena asked Jeremy when he opened the door to his room. Elena was wearing a dark blue, knee length dress with a sweetheart neckline.

“Depends on where you're going and with who.” Jeremy smirked at his sister.

“I'm going to the grill with Caroline, Stefan and Matt.” Elena told him.

“Then yes, you can wear that and you look really pretty in that dress.” Jeremy smiled then he straightened. “I actually got something for you that I want you to keep with you in your purse or pocket or something.”

Jeremy walked back into his room and pulled out a small bag from his bedside table. he handed Elena the bag when he got back to the door, looking slightly nervous.

“Oh Jeremy.” Elena giggled as she pulled out a dark red knuckle duster from the bag.

“It’s actually been soaked in vervain so you can use it against vampires.” Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck.

“Thank you.” Elena hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

“I just want you to be safe, Lena.” Jeremy murmured into her hair.

“I love you little brother.” Elena sighed as she burrowed closer to Jeremy.

“I love you too.” Jeremy hummed before he pulled back at the sound of the doorbell. “Have fun tonight and call me if you need anything.”

“I will and don’t get to lost in the wonderful world that is the internet.” Elena chuckled as she walked down the stairs to open the door.

“Stefan.” Elena smiled as she saw Stefan on the other side of the door.

“Hey Elena.” Stefan smiled back. “You look beautiful.”

“Eyes off my sister!” Jeremy called out with a smirk as he walked down the stairs. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

“Was it everything you hoped for?” Stefan chuckled as he looked at Jeremy.

“Nah, not really.” Jeremy shrugged. “Would have been a lot more fun if you actually were here to take my sister out on a date so I could threaten you.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” Stefan smirked.

“Are you two done?” Elena asked as she smiled while looking between them.

“Yeah, I was just going to get some coke form the fridge.” Jeremy shrugged and walked towards the kitchen.

“We have those spicy chips you like.” Elena informed him.

“Awesome.” Jeremy called out. “Thanks Lena.”

“You're very welcome.” Elena smiled. “Bye Jeremy, see ya later.”

“Bye Lena.” Jeremy called back as Elena shut the front door.

“You know.” Elena turned to Stefan as they walked towards the car. “You’d think that someone who was around when the car was invented would have one.”

“Oh, I do have a car.” Stefan said. “I just never drive it.”

“Why not?” Elena asked.

“It doesn’t run.” Stefan shrugged, not really having a better answer. “You know, the last time I was on a double date was 1972. Hef and the twins.”

“You are telling me that you went out on a double date with Hugh Heffner?” Elena gasped in surprise.

“Yeah, playmates.” Stefan smirked. “I got Miss June.”

“Good on you.” Elena laughed.

Later at the grill Elena, Stefan, Caroline and Matt are talking and laughing, telling stories and just having a good time.

Elena looked to the bar and chuckled, “I did not expect that.”

“What?” The others turned to see Kelly, Damon and Jenna drinking together.

“Are they actually having fun together?” Matt asked shocked.

“Good on them.” Elena laughed. “I'm going to go over there and talk to Jenna about something.”

“Good luck.” Caroline laughed.

“Aunt Jenna.” Elena smiled as she stopped beside Jenna.

“Elena, my darling niece, what can I do for you?” Jenna hugged her sloppily making Elena chuckle.

“I was just going to check if you wanted to go with me to the dealership this weekend?” Elena asked with a hopeful smile.

“Wait…” Jenna sat up straighter. “You got it?!”

“Yeah, they called today to say that I could pick it up on Monday.” Elena had a proud grin on her face.

“Absolutely!” Jenna got up and pulled Elena into a hug. “You are going to look so bad ass!”

“That was the only thing I really wanted.” Elena said as she pulled back from Jenna. She turned to Damon and Kelly. “I hope you three have a nice evening.” And as she left, she kissed Damon on the cheek after having hugged him quickly.

Elena starts to make her way back towards the other three when a man grabs her arm. “Kathrine?”

“I'm sorry.” Elena looked at him and there is a vague warning bell ringing in her head. “You have the wrong person.”

“My mistake.” The man muttered but kept looking at her as she walked back over to the others. As she approaches them, she sends a quick message to both Damon and Stefan. _‘That man just called me Kathrine’_.

“Let’s go back to my place and watch some movies or something.” Stefan offered after he read the text message and shared a subtle nod with Damon. “And no Elena, we are not watching Disney this time.”

Elena closed her mouth and pouted at him.

“What?” Matt asked confused.

“Elena seems to have made it her life mission to make me watch every single Disney movie in existence.” Stefan mock groaned.

“Hey, Disney is awesome!” Elena declared as she grabbed Carolines arm and they walked out of the grill together.

When Elena and Stefan arrived at the boarding house they talk while they wait for Caroline and Matt to arrive. Stefan asked, “You didn’t recognize him at all? Never seen him before?”

“No, but there is something about him that I just can put my finger on.” Elena hummed thoughtfully.

“Are you okay?” Stefan looked at her.

“Yeah I'm fine.” Elena smiled. “And I have this if the man tries something.” Elena pulled out her new knuckle duster.

“A knuckle duster?” Stefan chuckled.

“A vervain-soaked knuckle duster.” Elena had a slight maniac smile on her face but then it dropped into a frown. “Except I don’t really know how to throw a punch.”

“You should ask Damon to teach you some self-defense.” Stefan told her. “He taught me and he knows a lot of dirty tricks.”

“He thought you how to fight?” Elena smiled.

“Yeah, he's actually a very good teacher.” Stefan looked like he was lost in his memories with a small smile on his face.

“Come on.” Elena got out of the car as she saw Matt and Caroline arrive in Matt’s car.

Stefan led them into the living room and Matt and Caroline looked around with big eyes.

“Man, I've always wanted to see the inside of this place.” Matt said lowly.

“It’s a bit much.” Stefan shrugged.

“I like it.” Caroline smiled at Stefan.

“Whoa; these are great.” Matt exclaimed as he looked at a display full off miniature cars.

“This is uh…a little hobby of mine.” Stefan said with an embarrassed shrug.

“I did the entire Mustang series when I was nine.” Matt told him.

“You like cars?” Stefan asked with a smile.

“Understatement.” Matt laughed.

“Come with me.” Stefan said and lead them all to the garage. When he had opened the garage door, they saw a car covered by a tarp. “Prepare yourself, my friend.”

Matt gasped in awe as he saw the red 1963 Porsche 356B Karmann Coupe He slowly walked towards the car with big eyes then he stopped and turned to Stefan, “Wait, how do you have this?”

“Got passed down through the family.” Stefan said and Elena and Caroline had to look away from each other so they wouldn’t start laughing.

“Why don’t you…I mean…why don’t you drive it?” Matt hesitantly asked.

“It doesn’t run.” Stefan told him sadly, “I could never figure out why.”

“So, it’s a good car then?” Caroline asked with a smile.

“It’s a very good car and it’s very desirable, only round 2300 where ever built.” Matt gushed.

“Boys and their toys.” Elena said to Caroline who laughed.

“Want me to take a look at it?” Matt offered. “I built and rebuilt the engine on an old Camaro that Elenas dad used to own.”

“You guys have fun with that while me and Caroline go outside and gossip or something.” Elena and Caroline walked away.

“Thank you for this.” Caroline said softly to Elena as they stand outside the garage. “You and Stefan helped make this evening less awkward.

“No problem.” Elena smiled at her. “You are my best friend, Caroline, there is very little I wouldn’t do for you.”

“So, this is how it feels like.” Caroline murmured in wonder.

“What, what feels like?” Elena looked at her,

“Be someones best friend and first choice.” Caroline smiled with tears in her eyes. “I know that between me and Stefan you would choose me first and I’ve never really been anyone’s first chose before.”

“Oh, Care.” Elena pulled her into a hug and in a corner of her mind she thought about making a shirt with the text ‘Free Hugs for Friends’ on it, with an emphasis on _friends_. She would hate if some unknown stranger came up and just hugged her, Elena shuddered at the thought.

They pull away from each other just in time for Stefan and Matt to pull up in Stefans Porsche.

“Piece of cake!” Matt crowed as he stepped out.

“Why don’t you and Caroline take it for a spin?” Stefan asked as he tossed the keys to Matt.

“Really?” Matt looked at Stefan like he had hung the moon or something.

“Yeah.” Stefan smiled.

“You just made his year.” Elena laughed as she watched Matt and Caroline drive away.

Stefan and Elena had gone up to his room to have something to do until Caroline and Matt came back. Around an hour later Stefan sat up from where he had been writing in his journal. “They're back.”

“How?” Elena started to ask then she just shook her head when she remembered his vampire hearing. “Never mind.”

They made it down the stairs in time to see the awkward confrontation between Kelly, Matt and Damon.

“I got to…” Matt gestures towards where Kelly had just left.

“Go, it’s fine.” Caroline laughed and kissed him.

“I’ll take Caroline home later.” Elena reassured Matt.

“Thanks.” Matt called as he rushed out after giving Stefan his car keys back.

“Sorry if we ruined your evening.” Elena smiled at Damon.

“Eh, that’s fine.” Damon shrugged and took a sip from his bourbon.

Before anyone else can say anything the man from the grill jumped through the window and stabbed Stefan with a piece of glass. Damon pushed him of his little brother and engaged him in a fight, all the while Elena and Caroline did their best to stay out of the way.

Stefan removed the glass piece just in time to defend himself from a woman who attacked him. As she pushed him to the floor, Stefan quickly broke the leg off of a wooden chair and staked the woman through the hart.

At the same time Damon managed to send the man flying across the room and when he saw that the woman is dead and that he is outnumbered, he ran.

“Damn it!” Damon cursed.

“I remember them from 1864.” Stefan murmured. “They were in the tomb.”

“Yeah, about that…” Damon then proceeded to tell them about the visit from Pearl.

When Damon is done, they all just stood there until Elena sighed. “How about we deal with this tomorrow?”

The other three quickly agree, feeling tiredness creep in after a long day.

XOXOXOX

Elena came home to voices in the kitchen after she had dropped Caroline off at home. She assumed that it was Jeremy and Jenna but was shocked when she saw Anna sitting at the breakfast bar with Jeremy.

“What’s going on?” Elena asked as she looked at Anna.

Anna looked like a dear caught in headlights and Elena did her best not to crack a smile. Anna shifted and looked at Elena. “I’m sorry that I kidnapped you and then tried to feed you to my mother, but I was desperate to get her back and this was the first chance in 145 years.”

“I know that you aren’t really sorry, I can also guess that the only reason you are apologizing is that you actually like Jeremy and wants to keep being friends if not more with him. I really don’t blame you for any of that.” Elena walked over to Jeremy and Anna. “If I had a chance to bring my mom back, there wouldn’t be a lot I wouldn’t do to make that happen.”

“You mean…” Anna looked shocked and hopeful.

“I forgive you.” Elena smiled at Anna, then her eyes and smile turned cold. “But if you ever hurt my baby brother, I don’t care how old and powerful you are, I will find you and then I will cut off different body parts and see if they grow back or not. We clear?!”

“Yes.” Anna nodded quickly, actually feeling scared of this one human girl.

“Good, then you have both my forgiveness and my blessing.” Elena beamed, turned to Jeremy to kiss him on the cheek and walked up the stairs with a good night tossed over her shoulder.

Elena made herself ready for bed all the while feeling like she had forgotten something crucial about the man that attacked them at the boarding house and Stefan. As she climbed into bed, she was determined to be cautious the coming days.

XOXOXOX

The next day Elena was helping Damon and Stefan clean up after yesterday’s home invasion. She had started to clean up all the glass as she listen to Damon rant about yesterday.

“I say we go to Pearl’s, bust down the door and annihilate the idiot that attacked us last night.” Damon growled as he was putting up boards over the broken window.

“And then what?” Stefan groaned. “Turn to the rest of the vampires and say ‘Oops, sorry’ and hope that they’ll let us leave?”

“Can’t we just talk to Pearl?” Elena asked softly. “It’s just…”

“Just what?” Stefan asked.

“To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Elena smiled slightly. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“What is that feels bad about it?” Stefan looked at her.

“I don’t know.” Elena admitted with a shrug. “I have the feeling that something is coming.”

“Are we sure we can trust Pearl?” Stefan wanted to know then he turned towards Damon. “Why did you make a deal with her, anyway?”

“It was less a deal and more a helpful exchange of information. And it’s not like I had a choice.” Damon defended himself. “She’s…scary. Besides she's going to help me get Kathrine back.”

“Are you sure you want too?” Elena looked at him sadly.

“Want to what?” Damon asked.

“Find Kathrine and take her back?” Elena murmured.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Damon smirked.

“Because she doesn’t deserve you Damon.” Elena walked up to him and placed her hand gently on his cheek. “She abandoned you for 145 years and I don’t want her to hurt you again.”

“I…I…I need to go.” Damon stuttered out and was gone before Elena could react.

“I didn’t mean to make him uncomfortable.” Elena muttered.

“He’ll be okay, he’s just not used to people caring.” Stefan pulled her into a hug.

“How are we going to handle the vampires from the tomb?” Elena asked after a while. “I don’t have anything against Pearl or Anna but those that attacked us are going down.”

“Let me and Damon handle it, please.” Stefan pleaded. “I just want you safe.”

“And I want you and Damon safe.” Elena declared with a glare, then she softened. “I’ll go home so I can get something to eat and maybe take a nap.”

“You okay?” Stefan asked concerned, never having heard about Elena taking a nap in all the time he had known her.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Elena smiled. “I just didn’t sleep well last night, weird dreams and stuff.”

“Okay, drive safely.” Stefan told her softly.

“Absolutely.” Elena smirked teasingly. “100mph the whole way.”

XOXOXOX

Elena woke up to insistent knocking on the door. She got up from the couch, were she had taken her nap, and went to open the door.

“You're ignoring me.” Damon walked in as soon as the door was open.

“No, I'm not.” Elena defended herself as she rubbed her left eye and closed the door with a yawn.

“I’ve tried calling you 6 times and you didn’t answer.” Damon looked at her.

“Oh, sorry I was taking a nap and must have not heard my phone.” Elena walked over to the couch, looking for her phone.

“That means Stefan isn’t here.” Damon groaned.

“Should he be?” Elena asked as she finally found her phone.

“He went out to hunt in the woods earlier and hasn’t come back.” Damon started to pace. “I can’t reach him on his phone and I hoped that he was with you.”

Elena tried calling Stefan to and looked worried when he didn’t answer. “It’d going straight to voice-mail. Where could he be?”

“You're not going to like the answer to that.” Damon muttered.

“The tomb vampires.” Elena cursed as she remembered what had happened in the show.

“You’re really smart and insightful.” Damon muttered quietly.

“What?” Elena asked as she pulled on a jacket.

“Nothing.” Damon shook his head. “Where are you going?”

“With you to get Stefan.” Elena pushed Damon out of the door and locked it behind them.

“No, you're not.” Damon denied.

“Watch me.” Elena put on her knuckle duster and walked over to Damons car and got into the passenger side. Before she closed the car door she called out to Damon, “You coming or what?”

“If you are coming with me you have to promise me to stay in the car while I go talk to them.” Damon said as he started the car. “Otherwise I’ll knock you out and fucking leave you on your porch.”

“But…” Elena started to protest but stopped at the look she got from Damon and sat back with a pout. “Fine.”

XOXOXOX

Elena was bored and worried out of her mind as she sat in the car waiting for Damon, knowing he would return without Stefan due to the fact that he couldn’t get into the house.

“What happened?!” Elena got out of the car as she saw a pissed looking Damon approaching.

“They have him!” Damon snarled and punched a tree. “I can’t get in.”

“They have a human who owns the property.” Elena groaned. “I hate it when the bad guys are smart.”

“Yeah that sucks.” Damon snorts. “They also compelled the woman who owns the house to never let me in.”

“I guess it time to do some work for a living.” Elena declared and pulled on her knuckle dusters and pulled out a knife from her bag, then she started to walk the way Damon had come from.

Damon vamp-sped in front of her. “And where do you think you are going?”

“To get Stefan.” Elena said it like it was obvious. “Just because you can’t get in doesn’t mean that I can’t.”

“You are not going in there!” Damon growled.

“We can’t just leave him.” Elena looked up at Damon sadly.

“I know, Elena, I know.” Damon sighed. “They are torturing him for revenge and I can’t get in to get him.”

“We need back up.” Elena declared and started to smirk. “Who do we know that is a self-proclaimed vampire hunter and can’t be killed by supernatural creatures?”

“You are a genius.” Damon grabbed Elena and spun her around in his arms with a laugh.

It took them around 40 minutes to get to the school and the whole way Elena and Damon had argued about whatever Elena would go into the house or not.

“Damon, it’s my choice.” Elena told him strongly. “And I appreciate that you care about my wellbeing, I really do, but I am going.”

“Fine, but you do everything and anything to get out of there alive even if it means leaving me, Stefan or the teacher to die!” Damon looked at her seriously.

“It’s adorable that you think I would actually do that.” Elena smiled and patted his cheek.

Damon muttered a few profanities as he and Elena walked into the school to find the history teacher/vampire hunter.

“What do you want?” Alaric glared as Damon vamp-sped in front of him.

“Maybe I just want to see how many times I can kill you before that ring of yours stops working.” Damon smirked.

“We need your help, Mr. Saltzman.” Elena told him as she elbowed Damon in the ribs.

Elena explained everything as they made their way to Alaric’s classroom. “Stefan’s in the house and because Damon is a vampire, he can’t get in. We need you because Damon won’t let me go by myself.”

“I really want to forbid you to go at all but you are one stubborn little bitch.” Damon groused.

“Thank you.” Elena beamed at him.

“Her life is valuable, yours isn’t.” Damon looked at Alaric. “Your ring makes you the expendable one.”

“What about my ring?” Alaric twisted the ring on his finger.

“Let’s recap, shall we?” Damon sneered. “You tried to kill me, I defended myself, you died and then you came back to life… You see where I'm going with this?”

“Yeah but you forgot the part where I try and kill you again but this time, I won’t miss.” Alaric glared.

“Why do you hate Damon?” Elena asked with a condescending look. “Is it because he turned your wife? It’s not like he just woke up one morning thinking ‘Oh today I'm going to turn Alaric Saltzman’s wife’. She begged him to turn her so if you want to hate anybody it should be her. I do.”

“That’s not the same.” Alaric started to say.

“Your right.” Elena interrupted with a sneer. “She’s not my wife, she's my biological mother and she abandoned me when I was a baby. So, she left you to become a vampire? Suck it up and be a man!”

“I'm sorry Elena, but it’s not my problem.” Alaric looked at her sadly.

“That’s a shame.” Damon hummed thoughtfully. “Because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife.”

“You're lying.” Alaric glared.

“Am I?” Damon shrugged. “Why don’t you ask her yourself, coward? Come on Elena.”

Elena and Damon started to leave but was stopped by Alaric. “All right! Wait, I’ll go!”

Ten minutes later Alaric was pulling out all his vampire hunting equipment and placing it on his desk and Elena felt like messing with him a little more.

“So…which cabinet was it that was a shrine with half naked pictures of me?” Elena looked around the room innocently.

“What?” Alaric spluttered and dropped a stake.

“What are you talking about?” Damon asked.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Elena hummed. “Apparently Tanner had a shrine in one of the cabinets dedicated to me, full of pictures of me in different states off undress, which basically means that Mr. Saltzman here, has seen me naked.”

“Has he now?” Damon murmured but what Elena couldn’t see was the dark glare he was sending Alaric.

“What are these?” Elena picked up something from the table.

“Those are tranquilizer darts filled with vervain.” Alaric explained, happy to change the subject.

“Just get me in and I’ll get Stefan out.” Damon declared.

“You are not going without me.” Elena told him with a raised eyebrow.

“Elena.” Damon groaned.

“Damon.” Elena said in the same tone of voice.

“I can’t protect you in there.” Damon looked her in the eyes. “I don’t know how many vampires there are in there.”

“I can take care of myself.” Elena defended.

“Wasn’t it you who asked me to teach you self-defense because you didn’t know how to throw a punch?” Damon asked.

“True.” Elena nodded in agreement. “But I can almost guarantee that it doesn’t matter if you are human or a vampire, a knee in the balls still hurts. Plus, I have this.” Elena took out a water gun from her bag with a smirk.

“A water gun?” The disbelief in Damons voice was strong.

“Yes.” Elena smirked. “Filled with liquid vervain.”

“Okay, that is actually quite genius.” Damon admitted.

“If were gonna go, let’s go!” Alaric called out as he made his way out of the classroom.

XOXOXOX

Alaric knocked on the door as Elena and Damon waited hidden at the side of the house. As Alaric lied about his car breaking down to be let in to borrow the phone Elena had to hide her face in Damons chest to not make a sound as she did her best to not laugh, that was the most used trick in the book for fucks sakes.

As Alaric is let in Damon and Elena walked over to the door to wait for Alaric to come back.

“Oh, I'm sorry.” Miss Gibbons said as Alaric opened the door for Elena and Damon. “He’s not allowed in the house.”

“I know that.” Alaric said. “But you have to make an exception.”

“Just get her out of the house.” Damon snarled.

“Sorry not sorry.” Elena reached forward and grabbed Miss. Gibbons arm to pull her out of the house.

“Now, Miss. Gibbons.” Damon grabbed her and looked her purposefully in the eyes. “Tell me the truth. Are you married?”

“No.” Miss. Gibbons answered dully.

“Parents, children, anyone else who lives on this property?” Damon asked.

“No, it’s just me.” Miss. Gibbons said.

“Good.” Damon smirked and broke her neck.

“You were supposed to compel her!” Alaric glared.

“It doesn’t work that way.” Damon told him.

“She’s human!” Alaric kept glaring.

“And Damon isn’t and truthfully, if he hadn’t killed her, I would’ve.” Elena said as she pushed her way past Alaric and into the house.

“That is one hell of a girl.” Damon smirked then he turned to Alaric. “Now, get out of here and get rid of the body.”

Elena runs into an unknown man? vampire? Manpire? Vampman? Eh, whatever, he tried to attack her but she punched him in the face with her knuckled duster making him call out in pain and then while he was shocked, she stabbed him with a stake, killing him for good, and kept going to the basement.

A man is standing guard by the door at the end of the hall and Elena assumed that it would lead her to the basement and Stefan. She made herself ready to attack him with one of her vervain filled syringes but before she could Damon had already dispatched him.

“Nicely done on the one in the hallway.” Damon complimented her.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled and together they walked down the stairs to the basement.

“Elena.” Is the first thing she hears as her and Damon enter the cellar. “You shouldn’t be here…”

“She refused to be left behind.” Damon informed him and was about to stake the dark-skinned vampire staked to a chair.

“No, no, no, no, not him.” Stefan mumbled out.

“Whatever.” Damon shrugged. “Let’s get you down.”

“There’s vervain on the ropes.” Stefan hissed.

“Elena, pull that.” Damon gestured towards something behind Stefan.

Elena pulled at the rope thing and Damon caught his little brother as he sagged to the floor. “All right, let’s go.”

“Wait.” Stefan said and made his way over to the dark-skinned vampire to help him.

“What’s your name?” Elena asked gently as she helped Stefan remove the stakes from the dark-skinned vampires legs.

“Harper.” The vampire groaned out in pain.

“Hello, Harper.” Elena smiled. “My name is Elena and I wished we could have met under different circumstances.”

“Me too.” Harper tried to smile bit it came out like more of a grimace.

“Do you want to come with us Harper or would you like to stay here and wait for Pearl to come back?” Elena asked softly.

“I’ll stay here and wait for Pearl.” Harper smiled at the kind young woman. “But thank you for the offer.”

“If you ever need anything you can come find me and I’ll do my best to help.” Elena smiled, she hoped she could save Harper from her uncle/dad, he was such a sweet and gentle soul.

“Can you get him to the car?” Damon interrupted when Stefan and Elena were done pulling out the stakes.

“Yeah.” Elena nodded in determination. “But what about you?”

“You rescue, I’ll distract.” Damon smirked. “Go!”

Stefan groaned as they slowly and in Stefans case painfully make their way back to Damons car. Elena looked at Stefan in concern, “Can you make it?”

“Ugh hu.” Stefan groaned out in some sort of agreement.

The took a couple of more steps and then Elena tripped and they fell. She hissed in pain as she cut herself on something sharp but felt that it was something she could deal with later.

“You okay?” Stefan mumbled.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Elena reassured and helped him to his feet. “Come on, keep going.”

They finally arrived at the car after some very colorful curse words from Elena. “We’re almost there.”

Elena helped Stefan into the car and went to the driver side to see that something was wrong. “Stefan…”

Before Stefan could ask what was wrong, the vampire that had called her Kathrine busted the window on Stefans side and pulled him out and started to beat him.

Elena ran over just as the vampire was about to stake Stefan in the heart. She launched herself at his back and plunged the vervain filled syringe into the vampire’s neck with a loud “No!!”

“Stefan!” Elena tried to slap him awake but he was almost none responsive. “You are not allowed to desiccate! You hear me?!”

“Elena please run.” Stefan mumbled out.

Elena looked at him and she knew that she could just feed him her blood but at the same time she didn’t want to. She knew how Stefan became on human blood and while she didn’t care, he did.

“Here.” Elena held out her bleeding hand to him, he could hate her later as long as he was alive to actually hate her. “You need it.”

“Go, Elena, run!” Stefan tried to make her leave him.

“No!” Elena snapped. “I trust you.”

Stefan finally drinks the offered blood and regains his strength. Suddenly he is up and has the vampire that Elena vervain against a tree, repeatedly stabbing him in the heart with a branch.

“Stefan!” Elena called out to get his attention.

Stefan spun around, his face in full vampire form. Elena just smiled kindly at him, the vampire face was almost adorable, and slowly walked closer to him.

“I think he's really dead now.” Elena informed Stefan with a small laugh.

Elena softly helped Stefan clean his face of the blood and led him to the car just as Damon arrived.

“You two okay?” Damon looked them both over with worry.

“Yeah, we had a little hick-up when we were attacked by that one.” Elena gestured to the desiccated vampire by the tree. “But Stefan made him dead dead.”

“Good on you little brother.” Damon clapped him on the shoulder as he started the car so they could go back to the boarding house, Damon and Alaric shared a nod as Alaric got into his own car.

Around an hour later Elena stared out of Stefans bedroom window as Stefan approached her from behind.

“How are you doing?” Stefan asked softly.

“I'm good, thanks to Damons blood I am fully healed.” Elena smiled at him. “What about you?”

“I'm okay.” Stefan reassured. “The wounds have mostly healed.”

“That’s a relief.” Elena hugged him.

“I'm sorry you had to see me like that.” Stefan pulled away self-consciously.

“Hey, look at me.” Elena touched his face to make him look at her. “I wasn’t scared of you, okey? I know what you are Stefan and you could never scare me away by just looking a certain way.”

“You really mean that.” Stefan sounded so shocked that someone could accept him for all of him and not just the ‘good’ parts.

Elena’s phone rang and she answered with a smile when she saw that it was Jeremy. “Hey, Jere…What?... What’s going on?... Oh, no. Shit!...I’ll be home soon, okay?” Elena hung up.

“They’ve found Vicki’s body. You know it only takes one wrong step to turn you from somebody into some body.” Elena shrugged with a bit of dark humor as she made her way out of the boarding house.

Elena arrived home at the same time as Jeremy. “You okay?”

“Yeah, but what are we supposed to do?” Jeremy asked as he closed the door after they both had walked in.

“You are going to play the grieving ex-boyfriend and I'm going to be the supportive big sister.” Elena declared with a dramatic bow.

“Wanna watch a movie or something?” Jeremy asked after a while.

“Sure, but I want explosions.” Elena decided.

“A New Hope?” Jeremy smiled.

“Sounds good.” Elena agreed and walked into the kitchen to make popcorn.

“I’ll go get it from my room.” Jeremy called out as he ran up the stairs.

“Is it okay if Anna joins us?” Jeremy asked as he came back into the living room just as Elena put down the soda and popcorn.

“As long she's okay with cuddling.” Elena turned to smile at the vampiress that was partly hidden behind Jeremy. “You want soda or blood with your popcorn? Or both?”

“Blood?” Anna asked shocked.

“Yeah Elena got a couple of blood bags in the fridge for when Damon is here.” Jeremy smiled.

“Both it is.” Elena chuckled. “I hope you're okay with A+.”

“That’s fine.” Anna looked like she had been hit or something.

Elena came back from the kitchen with two more glasses, one empty so Anna could have soda and one filled with blood.

“Thank you.” Anna smiled in wonder at the Gilbert siblings.

“No problem.” Elena beamed and sat down on the couch as she pulled Jeremy down at the same time so he could sit in the middle.

The movie began just as Anna sat down beside Jeremy and like they had practiced it her and Elena leaned against Jeremy at the same time with a content sigh.

**A/N: The chapter is done!**

**I hope you all liked it :)**

**How do you guys want me to handle Mason when he arrives?**

**As for the paring for Elena, I have cut most pairings from the tally due to the fact that they’ll never catch up.**

**The tally at the moment are:**

**Elijah: 37**

**Klaus: 34**

**Or a healthy Polyamory relationship between Elijah/Elena/Klaus: 6**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	11. Miss Under Mystic Control

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

Elena woke up on Tuesday morning with a feeling of…something. She tried to figure out the feeling as she stood in the shower but it was like something was blocking her so she chooses to ignore it for now.

Elena decided to put on dark eyeshadow and dark red lipstick today to match her new dark red top, skintight leather pants, with a matching leather jacket and her favorite knee high, high heeled boots.

“Come on Jeremy!” Elena called out as she passed Jeremys bedroom door. “Time to go to school and if you are not down in the next five minutes, I’ll leave without you!”

“No, you won’t.” Jenna chuckled from the living room.

“True, but he doesn’t know that.” Elena smirked as she picked up her helmet and opened the front door.

“Elena!” Uncle John smiled with his hand raised, ready to knock. Elena had never liked his character on the show, the hypocritical speciesist that he was. The only good thing he ever did was sacrificing his life for Elena and give the Gilbert ring to Jeremy.

“Aunt Jenna.” Elena called in towards her aunt. “Seems like someone left a big pile of trach on our porch.”

“Jenna.” John smiled to hide the flash off hurt in his eyes.

“John, you made it.” Jenna sounded less then trilled.

“I said I would be here before noon.” John shrugged.

“What you say and what you do are usually two very different things.” Jenna hummed.

“Uncle john, what’s up?” Jeremy slapped john on the shoulder as he grabbed his helmet and walked out the door.

“I'm his ride so,” Elena started to walked out to. “See ya!”

As she walked out, she could see Jeremy impatiently waiting by her brand-new dark blue, almost black _Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R_ _. It had cost her a pretty penny but it was so worth it!_

_“Excited?” Elena smirked as she put on her helmet._

_“Definitely.” Jeremy chuckled. as he got on the bike behind Elena. “What I'm not excited about is having to beat every guy off you.”_

_“Eh, don’t be dramatic.” Elena laughed freely as she sped off towards the school._

_XOXOXOX_

Elena talked to Matt as they walked down a corridor at school. “I wonder how long he’ll stay?”

“Uncle John.” Matt muttered. “I never really liked that guy.”

“Does anyone not suffering from a brain deficiency do?” Elena smirked.

“I'm here for moral support if you need me.” Matt smiled at her.

“Thanks, but you have suffered enough, you don’t have to suffer uncle John to.” Elena placed her hand on his arm in support.

“Thank you by the way for everything you did at Vicki’s funeral and memorial.” Matt looked down sadly. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Of course, Matt.” Elena smiled. “What are friends for?”

They walked in silence for a while until Elena smirked. “So, was Caroline baking for you guys around the clock?”

“She finally went to her dad, which is a very good thing because I think my mom was going to strangle her if she dropped of one more lasagna.” Matt chuckled as they went their different ways.

Elena stood looking out of the window in the history classroom, waiting for the other students to leave. She tried to remember what was going to happen, she knew that sometime in the future the originals where coming to town and there was going to be werewolves at some point but the details where murky at best and completely blank at most.

“Elena.” Alaric called out from behind her.

“Hmm?” She turned to look at him.

“The reason I asked you to stay behind is this,” Alaric held out a pile of papers to Elena. “I made a copy of a paper Jeremy wrote for me. I think you should take a look at it.”

“Jeremy wrote this?” Elena sounded impressed. The title read ‘Truth or Fiction: The truth about vampires in Mystic Falls.’

“Yeah and I got worried that he was figuring things out.” Alaric told her.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.” Elena hummed as she flipped through the paper.

“So, how do you deal with it?” Alaric asked slowly.

“With what?” Elena looked up and handed the paper back.

“With all the lies and the secrets?” Alaric groaned. “You have to lie to everyone who’s important to you.”

“What are you on about?” Elena sighed.

“For example, you have to lie to Jeremy.” Alaric gestured to the paper. “You just told me that I didn’t have to worry about Jeremy finding out.”

“Yeah, and you don’t.” Elena smirked. “He already knows.”

“You told him?!” Alaric gasped.

“Yup.” Elena shrugged, not feeling like it was a big deal.

“That could get him killed!” Alaric glared at her.

“You listen to me and you listen well.” Elena said coldly. “It is better that he knows about the supernatural and everything that entails. It is always easier to defend yourself against a known threat instead of an unknown one!”

With that Elena stormed out of the classroom, her brown hair flowing behind her. Students got out of the way as she walked past, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her dark glare.

After school Jeremy and her walked through the front door of the Gilbert resident, laughing and joking. Elenas smile dropped when she saw John sitting at the breakfast bar with Jenna standing by the fridge.

“I'm going to go call Stefan.” Elena muttered to Jeremy and made her way up the stairs.

After she had called Stefan and asked him to come over, Elena decided to take a shower, needing something to distract her so she wouldn’t just go down into the kitchen and punching John in the face.

As Elena walked out of the bathroom in just a towel, she saw Stefan sitting on her bed and she smiled a bit teasingly, “You really have something against using the front door, haven’t you?”

“The window is more efficient.” Stefan smirked even as he had an embarrassed look on his face.

“If you say so.” Elena laughed and picked out some plain underwear, a spaghetti strap top and a pair of worn soft pajama pants.

“I do say so.” Stefan nodded and closed his eyes so that Elena could put on her clothes.

“How are you doing?” Elena walked over and sat down beside Stefan on the bed.

“I'm much, much better.” Stefan smiled at her. “I'm still a little jittery and a little bit on edge but I'm going to be okay.”

“I was getting worried when you didn’t come to school today.” Elena told him softly.

“I just needed to lay low for a little while and let my body readjust.” Stefan explained. “It’s only been a few days.”

“You are my friend Stefan; I’ll always worry about you.” Elena smiled. “Even if you are an old man.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Stefan chuckled and pulled her into a hug.

Elena hugged back, trying to leech as much warmth from him as possible as she was starting to get cold. Then she hissed in pain as sharp teeth buried themselves in her neck.

“Stefan…” Elena said softly. “Stefan you need to let go, okay?”

Stefan didn’t respond and just kept drinking from her even as she tried to get his attention.

“Stefan!” Elena said loudly as she brought her wrist with the vervain armband into contact with his skin.

Stefan groaned in pain and pulled back with a glare, then the glare turned into a look of horrified realization as he saw what he had done. “Oh God….”

“It’s okay, Stefan.” Elena tried to reassure him even as she placed a towel against her still bleeding neck.

“I'm sorry.” Stefan said and then he had disappeared out of the window again.

“Shit.” Elena muttered, more worried about Stefan and that he would do something stupid then about herself.

With the towel pressed against her throat she walked over to her phone and called Damon, asking him to come over as she didn’t want to talk about this over the phone.

Around ten minutes later there was a knock on the door and Elena snuck down to open it, not wanting to worry Jenna and Jeremy if they saw the blood on her neck. She had done her best at wrapping her neck with a scarf and cleaning up the blood but the bleeding wouldn’t stop and she was getting dizzy.

“Good you're here.” Elena smiled a she opened the door.

“You ask, I come.” Damon smirked as he stepped into the house. “I'm easy like that.”

“Come on.” Elena grabbed Damons arm and started pulling up the stairs, a bit surprised that he hadn’t smelled the blood yet.

“No Elena.” Damon said loudly as he saw Jeremy sitting in the kitchen. “I will not go to your bedroom with you.”

Elena chuckled as they made their way into her room. “Really?”

“Ah, just like I remember.” Damon smirked but the smirk dropped as he took a deep breath. “Why are you bleeding?”

Elena sighed and slowly unwrapped the scarf from her neck, showing Damon the still sluggishly bleeding bite.

“What happened?” Damon tilted her head gently to see the wound better.

“Stefan was over earlier and we were just talking and stuff.” Elena explained. “Then he hugged me and after a while he just bit me. And I'm not actually pissed about that, if you or Stefan need some blood you can have mine” Elena shrugged. “What worried me was that he didn’t stop when I told him to and I had to burn him with my vervain armband for him to let go.”

“This is bad,” Damon groaned. “Almost as bad as your uncle kicking it with the Founder’s Council.”

“Yeah that’s worse.” Elena admitted. “You win worst day award… Oh wait, the prize goes to me for actually being related to the fucker.”

“Here.” Damon laughed and offered her his bleeding wrist and Elena accepted it gratefully.

“You know.” Elena said with a chuckle as she pulled back, her neck already completely healed. “I drink more vampire blood then I do water.”

“You should stop getting injured.” Damon smirked.

“Nah, what’s the fun in that.” Elena smirked back, then she frowned. “I'm worried about Stefan. When he saw that he had bit me he looked horrified and just ran out and I'm scared that he’ll do something stupid.”

“It will take him a few days to get back to normal.” Damon started to look around her room. “It’s like an addict that has been clean for years and then they have one hit and everything crashes.”

“So, he has to go cold turkey?” Elena asked as she watched Damon walk over to her dresser and open it.

“I don’t think he needs to and from what I know about you, you don’t really care either as long as he is happy.” Damon hummed and pulled out a dark red lacey bra from the drawer.

“You're right, I just want him to be happy and accept himself for what he his.” Elena sighed, not caring that Damon was looking through her underwear.

“I’ll go talk to him if it would make you feel better.” Damon walked over to her, getting into her personal space.

“Thank you, Damon.” Elena smiled up at him. “I’ll owe you one.”

Damon hummed with a smirk as he looked her over slowly from top to toe and then he was gone with a chuckle.

XOXOXOX

A few days later Elena was trying to pick a dress to wear to the Founders day party thing. She had a hard time deciding between the dark purple knee length dress and the white dress that was shorter in the front and longer in the back.

Her phone started to ring and she walked over to the bed to answer it. “Hello… Oh, hey Mrs. Doeley… Sorry Grammy… sure… absolutely… I’ll just ask for Jeremys help… It’s no problem Mrs. Doeley… I’ll see you soon… Bye Bye.”

Elena smiled as she hung up the phone and put on a pair of jeans and a top and made her way to Jeremys room to knock on the door.

“Lena?” Jeremy asked as he opened the door.

“Hey Jeremy.” Elea smiled and then she saw Anna sitting on Jeremys bed and waved enthusiastically. “Hey Anna.”

“Hello Elena.” Anna smiled back.

“What can I help you with Lena?” Jeremy chuckled.

“Mrs. Doeley called and asked if we could go to the supermarket for her.” Elena informed him. “Anna, you can come to if you want.”

“Who’s Mrs. Doeley?” Anna asked as she stood up from the bed.

“She’s this sweet little old lady that used to babysit me and Elena when we were younger.” Jeremy explained and then, without being asked, handed Elena a hoddie.

“We help her buy groceries every now and then.” Elena beamed at Jeremy and pulled on the hoddie.

“And she’s okay with you bringing me along?” Anna wondered as they walked down the stairs.

“Why wouldn’t she be?” Elena looked puzzled.

“I'm an unknown and you are bringing me to her home, which I won’t be able to enter without an invite.” Anna shrugged.

“You leave that up to me.” Elena smiled and then she tossed the car keys to Jeremy. “Jeremy’s driving.”

“Times like these I'm very happy that you didn’t sell your car when you bought your bike.” Jeremy chuckled as he caught the keys.

“Me too.” Elena laughed.

Fifteen minutes later they were standing on Mrs. Doeley’s porch, waiting for her to open the door.

“Elena, Jeremy.” Mrs. Doeley smiled brightly as she opened the door. Mrs. Doeley was a short, white haired lady that acted like everyone’s grandmother and she’s dearly loved by most of Mystic Falls.

“Mrs. Doeley, eh… Grammy.” Elena beamed and hugged the elder, then she stepped back to introduce Anna. “Grammy this is Anna, she's Jeremys girlfriend. Anna this is Abigale Doeley, Mystic Falls resident grandmother.”

“Well, aren’t you a pretty little thing.” Mrs. Doeley smiled at Anna. “As I've told Elena and Jeremy several times,” Here she paused to mock glare at the Gilbert siblings, “You can call me Grammy or Abbi.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Grammy.” Anna smiled bashfully, sounding a little awkward calling a woman who was, at least, a century younger than herself Grammy.

“Come in, come in, my dears.” Grammy stepped back and started to lead them to the kitchen and offered them some freshly baked cookies.

“Aww thanks Grammy.” Elena smiled and then she moaned as she bit into the gooey cookie.

“I wrote everything I need on a piece of paper.” Grammy handed the paper over to Elena. “I might be a lot but Jeremy has grown into a strong young man so it won’t be a problem, I think.”

“We shall brave the supermarket and get everything you need, Grammy.” Jeremy laughed even as he blushed and Anna giggled.

XOXOXOX

A few hours later Elena made her way into the Founders Hall and saw Stefan drinking at the bar. She smiled at him and walked over, hoping he wasn’t going to run away.

“Hello Stefan.” Elena said gently.

“Hey Elena.” Stefan smiled awkwardly. “You look beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you.” Elena looked down on her white dress and silvery heels. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“Thanks.” Stefan then looked at her sadly. “I am so, so sorry for biting you.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Elena placed her hand on his arm. “The only thing that really bugs me is that I know that it wasn’t really something you wanted.”

“You are an amazing young woman.” Stefan breathed out with a weird look in his eyes.

“And you are totally buzzed right now.” Elena giggled.

“Yes I am.” Stefan nodded. “The alcohol takes the edge off.”

“As long as you're okay.” Elena smiled at him.

“Do you wanna dance?” Stefan asked.

“To this.” Elena frowned at the music choice.

“I’ll be right back.” Stefan made his way to the DJ.

“That is not going to work.” Kelly Donovan said as she came up to Elena. “I already tried to bribe the guy with 20 bucks and a date, he said that Carol Lockwood has complete control over the music choices.”

“You’d be surprised at what Stefan can accomplish when he puts his mind to it.” Elena smirked as she saw Stefan compelling the DJ at the same time she thought, ‘I wouldn’t change the song for you either, especially if you offered a date.’

“Thank God!” Kelly exclaimed as the music changed and walked out on the dance floor to dance with Stefan.

“Have I entered an alternate universe where Stefan is fun?” Damon teased as he walked up to Elena.

“I just wish he could be this happy all the time.” Elena admitted softly.

“He’ll be fine.” Damon said but it sounded like he was trying to reassure himself more than anything. “One way or another.”

“And we will be here for him whatever happens.” Elena smiled.

“You look beautiful, Elena.” Jenna said as she walked up to them.

“You look very beautiful to, aunt Jenna.” Elena smiled.

“She’s right, you look radiant.” Damon kissed the top of Jenna's hand.

“Well, aren’t you a charmer.” Jenna laughed with a small blush.

“History teacher at three o’clock.” Elena whispered to Jenna.

“Is my makeup okay?” Jenna asked worried.

“It’s perfect.” Elena reassured just as Alaric came up to them.

“I was looking for you.” Alaric smiled awkwardly at Jenna.

“Here I am.” Jenna shrugged. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Well, uh…” He looked at Elena through the corner of his eye. “Things have been a little crazy but I'm here now.”

“Oh, you mean the whole saving Stefan from a bunch of revengeful vampires?” Jenna asked nonchalantly.

“Uh…but…ehh…” Alaric spluttered.

“What? You didn’t think my niece would tell me what was going on?” Jenna smirked.

“Do you want to get a drink?” Alaric asked hesitantly. “We could talk about all off…that?”

“Sure.” Jenna smiled and walked away with Alaric.

“That was hilarious.” Damon chuckled.

“It was.” Elena giggled. After a while she turned to Damon. “Hey Damon?”

“Yes Elena.” Damon smirked at her.

“Could you maybe come with me to the courthouse tomorrow?” Elena asked softly.

“Why are you going there and what do you need my help with?” Damon turned fully towards Elena.

“I’m getting emancipated, with Jenna's permission, so that I can make decisions regarding all the properties owned by my parents.” Elena explained. “And it would be really helpful if you were there with me to do some compelling if it is needed.”

“You only want me for my powers!” Damon mock accused.

“Yes.” Elena nodded and looked at Damon seriously, then her lips twitched and they started to laugh.

“Sure, I’ll come with you tomorrow.” Damon agreed.

“Thank you!” Elena hugged him.

“Now, would you do me the honor of accompanying me around the party?” Damon offered her his arm.

“I would be delighted.” Elena smiled and placed her hand in the crock of his elbow.

Together they walked around the party slowly, talking and laughing and just having fun. After a while they bump into the sheriff who is for once not in uniform.

“You know I love a woman in uniform but I have to side with this one.” Damon smiled at Sheriff Forbes. “You look… you look smashing.”

“He’s right Sheriff Liz.” Elena beamed at her. “You look very nice.”

“Thank you, Damon, Elena. Cheers!” Liz blushed as she clinked her glass with Damons. “I needed that. You know I had my doubts about you at first, Damon, but like everyone else on the council you’ve won me over.”

“Thanks Liz.” Damon chuckled lowly. “It’s really nice how welcoming the council has been. I like my life here in Mystic Falls and it is starting to feel like home again.”

“Well, you are not going to like what I have to tell you.” Liz frowned. “Johnathan Gilbert’s claims check out; the blood bank, the missing people, all of it true. We might have a problem.”

“More vampires?” Elena did her best to look scared.

“Elena look at me.” Damon looked at her and winked when Liz couldn’t see his face anymore. “I'm not going to let anything hurt you, okay?”

“You promise?” Elena asked in a small voice, trying not to giggle.

“I swear on my fathers grave.” Damon smirked because they both knew he hated his father.

“I believe you.” Elena smiled.

“Elena.” Jeremy came up to them, with Anna on his arm.

“Jeremy, Anna.” Elena hugged them both, shocking Anna. “You look lovely in that dress, Anna.”

“Thank you.” Anna smiled. She was wearing a black and red punk dress with long sheer arms. “I like your dress to.”

“We seem to be the exact opposites to each other.” Elena laughed and walked away from Damon and Liz arm in arm with Anna.

“Like yin & yang.” Jeremy chuckled.

“Actually Anna, there was a thing I wanted to talk to you about.” Elena smiled.

“Okay?” Anna looked curious.

“I heard from my aunt that your mom wanted to buy the office that used to be my fathers?” Elena asked.

“Yeah, my mom actually owned an apothecary there back in 1864.” Anna nodded.

“Well, it turns out that because both me and Jeremy are minors our uncle has the last say as he is the estate’s trustee.” Elena almost growled. “And he is refusing to sell!”

“Oh, that’s…” Anna looked down sadly, knowing how much that apothecary meant for her mother.

“I have a plan to solve that actually.” Elena smirked. “With aunt Jenna's permission I'm getting emancipated tomorrow.”

“Really? Aunt Jenna agreed?” Jeremy looked very happy about it.

“Yes, she did.” Elena smiled at Jeremy then she turned back to Anna. “So, if you could set up a meeting between your mother and me the day after tomorrow, we can discuss price and such.”

“Thank you so much!” Anna pulled Elena into a hug. “You have no idea what this would mean to her.”

“You are very welcome.” Elena hugged back. “Me and Jeremy agreed to sell it to your mother and uncle John can’s say shit about it after tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Anna repeated as she pulled back from Elena.

“Hey, what are friends for?” Elena smiled.

“I…I’ve never actually had any female friends or friends at all, really.” Anna admitted quietly.

“You do now.” Elena beamed at her.

“Please dance with your alcoholic vampire best friend.” Stefan grabbed Elenas hand and dragged her laughing to the dance floor.

After they had dance for a while a man accidentally bumped into Elena.

“Wow, watch it!” The man glared.

“Excuse you!” Elena glared. “You could watch were you are going!”

“You bumped into me!” The man lied.

“Well apparently you are delusional as well as clumsy.” Elena sneered back at him.

“Why you…” The man raised his hand as if to hit her.

Stefan stepped in front of her and grabbed the man’s arm. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”

“What are you going to do about it?” The man asked, acting tuff and trying to be intimidating.

“This,” Stefan hissed and looked the man straight in the eyes. “You will apologize to Elena and do it like you mean it.”

“I’m really, really sorry.” The man turned towards Elena.

“Now walk away.” Stefan compelled again and the man left in a dace.

“I wanted to kick his ass.” Elena pouted. “Damon has been teaching me.”

“Are you okay?” Stefan asked softly.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Elena assured him. “But I think I need something to drink so I'm going over to the bar.”

Elena left Stefan on the dance floor and made her way over to the bar where she saw Damon standing and decided to join him. “Can you order me a raspberry mojito, please?”

“Underaged drinking?” Damon mocked gasped but did order her the drink she wanted, compelling the bartender to think he had made a virgin drink instead of one with alcohol.

“Thank you.” Elena beamed at him. “So, have you noticed what your brother has been up to?”

“No, I have been a bit too preoccupied with yours.” Damon hummed.

“Oh?” Elena asked intrigued.

“He was asking me if I could train him in self-defense to.” Damon shrugged.

“Are you going to?” Elena looked at him with a small smile.

“Yeah.” Damon groaned. “Seriously, since meeting you I have started to lose all my bad ass points.”

“Don’t worry Damon.” Elena kissed him on the cheek. “You are still the number one bad ass in this town.”

“And don’t you forget it!” Damon called after her as she left.

XOXOXOX

Later that night Elena and Jenna walked up the stairs to go to bed. The rest of the party had been filled with chaos and drama and the only thing Elena wanted to do was go to sleep.

“Not so excited that we have another month of these Founder’s Day events.” Jenna groaned.

“Tell me about it.” Elena sighed and quietly wondered why they needed all these parties for anyway.

As she passed Jeremys bedroom door she knocked and called out “Good night, little brother.”

“Good night, sister-dear.” Came Jeremys muffled response.

Elena walked into her bedroom and almost had a heart attack. “Stefan! God you scared me.”

“Sorry.” Stefan shrugged. “And I'm sorry that I ran off earlier.”

“What happened?” Elena asked concerned. “Is everything okay?”

“Uhm…” Stefan looked down.

“You know you can talk to me and that I won’t judge you.” Elena coaxed softly as she closed her bedroom door and joined Stefan on the bed.

“I tried so hard to keep it together tonight and it was working, it was really working but then Matt’s mom, she got hurt and she was bleeding and I had her blood on my hands.” Stefan mumbled in distress.

“And then what happened?” Elena rubbed Stefans back gently.

“And then that guy in the parking lot, I wanted to feed on him and it took everything inside of me not to do it.” Stefan admitted with a shudder.

“You do know that I wouldn’t care if you wanted to feed on people, right?” Elena asked softly.

“I can’t, Elena!” Stefan looked up at her with pained filled eyes. “I don’t just feed on people, I lose control and become a ripper.”

“What’s a ripper?” Elena asked, already knowing but wanted Stefan to explain it in his own words.”

“It’s a vampire that gets so lost in the blood lust that they rip apart their victims.” Stefan sounded defeated. “And that’s not even the worst part when it comes to me.”

“And what is that?” Elena wondered.

“I put them back together again afterwards.” Stefan disgust for himself was clear. “Like fucking puzzle pieces.”

“Do you want my honest opinion?” Elena asked.

“Yes.” Stefan looked at her.

“I don’t care.” Elena shrugged. “You could rip apart a whole town and I wouldn’t care as long as you were happy.”

“But…” Stefan started to say.

“No buts.” Elena interrupted. “Except this; I know you hate what you become if you let lose so I will help you in any way I can.”

“Thank you.” Stefan murmured softly. “You are an amazing friend.”

“So are you.” Elena smiled.

“I better get home.” Stefan stood up. “Good night Elena.”

“Good night Stefan.” Elena patted his cheek softly. “And if you need someone to talk to you can always call me.”

XOXOXOX

The next morning Damon picked her up before school so they could go to the court house. Elena had chosen to wear a pair of black skinny jeans, a flowy blue top and a nice-looking blazer. Her hair was done up in a tight bun and the only jewelry she was wearing was her vervain bracelet and a pair of small pearl erring that had belonged to her mother.

“Good morning, Elena.” Damon greeted as she got into his car. “Don’t you look all mature today.”

“Good morning, Damon.” Elena smiled at him. “And I thought it would help to look a little more sophisticated today. Humans always judge each other on appearance before anything else.”

“You could be right about that.” Damon smirked and shifted in his jeans and leather jacket.

“Don’t worry, you look fine.” Elena reassured him.

“Are you nervous?” Damon asked after a while.

“Not really.” Elena shrugged. “I have Jenna's permission and if anything goes wrong I have you.”

A few hours later a happy, emancipated, Elena smiled at Stefan as he parked his car in front of the school.

“Nice car.” Elena told him with a smile.

“Thought it would be a waste to leave it in the garage.” Stefan shrugged and together they started to make their way into the school.

“How are you feeling?” Elena asked softly.

“I woke up this morning feeling great and thought it was time to get back into things.” Stefan shrugged. “Thank you for being there for me during all this.”

“You would do the same for me.” Elena nudged his shoulder with her own.

“If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late.” Stefan hummed as he heard the warning bell ring. “Why don’t you go to class, I’ll catch up, I just need to grab my stuff.”

“Okay, if you're sure.” Elena muttered and at Stefans nodded she jogged away.

Elena managed to get into the history class room and sit down before the bell rang and Stefan walked in a few second later and she smirked at him, knowing that he had cheated and used vamp-speed to get there on time.

“Okay, this week were going to set aside our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founders’ Day.” Alaric explained as he leaned against his desk. “Apparently the community leaders feel it’s more important than World War 2, but hey, what do I know?”

“Sorry I'm late.” Bonnie interrupted as she hurried into the class room.

“Well, it looks like we will be at full occupancy today.” Alaric smiled. “Welcome home, Bonnie.”

Bonnie sat down and smiled at Elena, who smiled back, but when she looked at Stefan her smile faded even as Stefan smiled at her. Bonnie tried not to look at him and turns her head away. Elena was worried, had she not managed to keep Bonnie from being a judgmental little hypocrite?

Elena and Stefan shared a confused look even as Elena planed on talking to Bonnie later to find out what was going on.

After class Elena ran after Bonnie who walked away quickly, reading a paper.

“Bonnie!” Elena called out making Bonnie stop.

“Hey.” Bonnie mumbled.

“I tried to talk to you after class but you had already taken off.” Elena smiled slightly at her. “How are you? How’s the family?”

“We’re dealing but it’s been hard.” Bonnie shrugged.

“We have missed you, you know.” Elena smiled again.

“I’ve missed you guys to.” Bonnie said but Elena felt like it wasn’t completely right, like there was something hidden in her words.

“Bonnie! Bonnie!” Caroline came bouncing over and pulled Bonnie into a hug. “Thank God your home!”

“I’ve missed you to Caroline.” Bonnies smiled a lot more sincerely at Caroline.

“I know we talked everyday but I’ve missed you.” Caroline beamed.

Elena smiled, while she couldn’t just forgive Bonnie for the betrayal at the tomb, she didn’t want to abandoned her completely either, so while she had only called Bonnie a few times she had asked Caroline to be there for Bonnie instead and it seemed to have worked.

“How are you doing?” Caroline asked Bonnie.

“Better, much better.” Bonnie chuckled lightly. “You know, glad to be back and trying to keep myself busy.”

“Well, I can help with that.” Caroline beamed. “Major wardrobe problem! You need to help me pick out the perfect dress for the Founders’ Court.”

“The Founders’ Court?” Elena asked looking shocked. “Did I miss something?”

“The Founders’ Court! You know, Miss Mystic Falls.” Caroline looked at her weirdly. “They announced it today and you and I are both on it.”

“Oh my God, I had completely forgot about that.” Elena groaned as she recalled what she had read in Elenas diaries from before the whole taking over her life thing.

“So, are you dropping out then?” Caroline asked sadly.

“I can’t.” Elena hummed.

“No?” Caroline looked hopeful, wanting her best friend there with her.

“Her mom is the one who wanted her to enter.” Bonnie explained softly to Caroline as they watched Elena walk away.

As she made her way home Elena pulled out her phone and called her sister from another mister. “Hey Lexi.”

“Elena!” Lexi called out in happiness. “It’s so good to hear from you.”

“I miss you, sister-mine.” Elena smiled sadly.

“I miss you to, sweetie.” Lexi hummed. “So, what can I help you with, little sister?”

“Stefan is struggling.” Elena told her.

“Struggling how?” Lexi wanted to know.

“A few days/weeks ago, Stefan was kidnapped and tortured.” Elena murmured sadly, knowing that Lexi could still hear her. “And the only way for him to survive was to give him my blood and after that he has not been himself. I honestly don’t care if he wants to feed on people and massacre towns but I know that it is not something he wants.”

“Shit, he’s on a blood binge.” Lexi muttered. “Here’s what well do, Lee and I will come get him for a few days to help him get back to his normal broody self.”

“Sounds good.” Elena nodded even though she knew Lexi couldn’t see her. “I’ll call Damon and tell him to get Stefan ready to go.”

“Thanks for calling, little sister.” Lexi had a smile in her voice. “I will fix our best friend and then you and I can go on a celebratory shopping spree.”

“I look forward to it.” Elena laughed. “Bye Lexi and hug Lee from me.”

“I will and I’ll text you later.” Lexi made a kissing sound on the other end of the phone before she hung up.

Elena chuckled quietly to herself as she called Damo and when he answered she greeted him with, “Hello Mystic Falls resident bad ass.”

“Hello gorgeous.” Damon laughed.

“I have some information for you and then I have a favor to ask.” Elena said as she walked home, having been dropped off by Damon after the meeting at the court house earlier that day.

“Hit me.” Damon hummed.

“Kinky.” Elena laughed and then she proceeded to tell him about her talk with Lexi.

“I’ll make sure Stefan is all ready to go when she gets here.” Damon reassured her. “Now, what was that favor you needed?”

“I'm very sorry for the short notice. I didn’t even know that the contest was coming up, much less that I would be in it.” Elena explained softly. “And I really hoped that you could do me the huge favor of being my escort to this Miss Mystic Falls thing.”

“It would be an honor to escort you, Miss. Gilbert.” Damon declared with a low laugh.

“Thank you.” Elena let out a sigh of relief. “Meet me at the school tomorrow.”

“Sure, and you're welcome.” Damon chuckled and hung up.

XOXOXOX

After the morning interviews Elena met Pearl and Anna at the grill for a late breakfast.

“Anna.” Elena hugged her and Anna was as usually shocked but she was starting to get used to getting a hug from Elena every time they met.

“Elena.” Anna said softly then she pulled back to introduce he mother. “Elena this is my mother, Pearl Zhu. Mom this is Elena Gilbert.”

“It’s an honor to finally meet you.” Elena smiled at pearl. “And I'm so sorry for everything my ancestors have done to you and yours.”

“It’s nice to meet you to, Elena.” Pearl sounded pleasantly surprised. “Annabelle said that you would be willing to sell a property to me, is that correct?”

“Yeah, the only reason you don’t already own it is because until yesterday my uncle John was the estate’s trustee because neither me or Jeremy were of age but I become emancipated yesterday so I could sell it to you without him interfering.” Elena explained.

“And you are okay with selling it to me knowing your uncle would disapprove?” Pearl asked surprised.

“The way I see it, the property should have been yours from the start, it’s not your fault that Jonathan Gilbert basically stole it from you.” Elena sounded disgusted at her ancestor, then she smirked. “And honestly? Uncle John disapproving makes me want to sell it to you even more.”

The rest of the meeting went without a problem and with Pearl once again owning the property and feeling a little better about her daughter being friends with the Gilbert siblings.

When she got home, Elena had some time to kill before she was supposed to meet Damon at the school so she chose to watch the inter-cut edit from the interview earlier that morning.

“This year’s queen will have the special honor of taking stage during the hundred and fiftieth Founders’ Day Gala.” Carol Lockwood was saying on the screen. “Before we crown our winner, we’d like to get to know a bit more about each of you.”

Caroline is shown first, “I'm on the Mystic Falls beautification committee and I volunteer at the poor soup kitchen.”

Elena saw herself next and had to cringe, she hated being in film and in pictures. “I am protective of my family and friends and would drop everything to help a friend in need.”

Then it was back to Caroline, “I implemented this year’s ‘Go Green’ campaign at school.”

And then it was sadly back to Elena herself, “I love to dance and sing and spend time with my little brother.”

Samantha, a girl Elena didn’t know much about, came on the screen sounding very arrogant as she said, “I don’t think it’s wrong for me to win two years in a row.”

It switched to Amber, “I was surprised to have been selected since I'm not from one of the founding families.”

Elena was back on screen and she knew she was lying through her teeth, “This is a huge honor and I am very blessed to have been chosen for this.”

Caroline was on the screen again, “I worked for the recycling program and was in charge of this year’s police raffle.”

A girl named Tina got a little screen time, “Just because my D.U.I. made my community service mandatory doesn’t mean that I was any less committed.”

The whole thing finished by showing Elena again, “This was really important to my mother and standing here I feel closer to her.”

Around two hours later Elena was dancing with Damon as Carol Lockwood was teaching them all the dance moves that was needed for the Mystic Falls pageant.

“Honor your partner, Stay focused, right hand around. Flirt with your eyes. Left hand around.” Carol was instructing them.

Elena was wiggling her eyebrows at Damon, “This is ridiculous.”

“Both hands.” Carol called out.

“This was actually very intimate back in the day.” Damon smirked.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot.” Elena laughed. “You were around when this dance was invented.”

“Ouch!” Damon laughed and spun Elena around to catch her in his arms.

“No! No! No! There’s no touching during this part. It’s about the simple intimacy of the near touch!” Carol called out. “Very nice, Amber!”

“Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood.” Amber blushed.

“I think this whole thing is overrated.” Damon murmured to Elena.

“You are not wrong.” Elena laughed.

A while later they are all allowed to leave to let the next group practice and Elena and Damon met Bonnie and Caroline right inside the door.

“Hey Bonnie, Caroline.” Elena smiled at them.

“Bonnie,” Damon nodded at Bonnie, “How are you?”

Bonnie ignored him completely making Elena frown and Damon to sigh, not really caring either way.

“I begged Bonnie to fill in for Matt, he had to work today.” Caroline explained and Elena heard something weird in her voice, she looked at Caroline who mouthed. ‘Tell you later.”

“Bonnie, do you have a minute?” Elena turned to Bonnie.

“We only have 30 minutes for rehearsals.” Bonnie hesitated.

“It’ll only take a minute.” Elena reassured and together they walked out of the room.

They walked into an empty classroom, “Bonnie, what's wrong?”

“It’s not worth talking about.” Bonnie shrugged.

“What do you mean ‘not worth it’?” Elena asked. “You’ve barley said ten words to me and you won’t even look at Damon. Is that what it is? Damon?”

“Listen, Elena, I can’t just pretend that everything is okay.” Bonnie glared at her. “Everything my Grams did was to protect us from those vampires in the tomb and now they’re out which means she died for nothing.”

“Okay, that’s it, I'm done being Miss Nice Friend.” Elena growled. “First of; stop being such a judgmental, racist bitch! And don’t pretend that you're not, you hate vampires because of what they are, something they can’t change. That’s like someone hating you for being black.”

“But…” Bonnie tried to interrupt.

“No, I'm still talking.” Elena glared. “Second; the only one at fault for your Grams dying? Is your Grams! She should have thought about the consequences before she betrayed me, Stefan and Damon! And Third; The Tomb vampire? Not all of them deserved to be starved and tortured by the so-called founders of Mystic Falls.”

“They kill people!” Bonnie argued heatedly.

“So what? We kill animals for food.” Elena argued back and when she saw Bonnie open her mouth her mouth again, she continued. “And don’t come here and say that it’s not the same thing. All through history hunting something weaker than you for food has always been a thing!”

“So, your choosing them over me?” Bonnie demanded to know.

“I didn’t make that choice, you did.” Elena walked away with tears in her eyes.

“You okay?” Damon asked softly as he followed her to his car.

Elena looked up at him and couldn’t stop the tears from falling from her eyes. Damon pulled her into his arms and held her tightly as she sobbed into his chest, feeling like going back into the school and ripping the Bennett bitch… sorry, witch’s throat out for hurting Elena.

XOXOXOX

Later that afternoon Elena was carrying her dress bag down the stairs so she could bring it to the founders’ hall where she would be getting ready. As she stepped off the last step there was a knock on the door.

“Hey.” Elena smiled at Alaric as she opened the door.

“Hi.” Alaric said back awkwardly. Seems like he still hadn’t really gotten over first seeing her basically naked and then her attitude towards the supernatural.

“I heard you're driving.” Elena smirked.

“Yeah I am.” Alaric shrugged. “Here let me get that.”

Elena gives him dress bag, “Thanks.”

“How is Stefan?” Alaric asked as he closed the door behind him while they waited for Jenna.

“What do you mean?” Elena asked, slightly distracted by looking for her purse.

“I haven’t seen him in a couple of days and when he wasn’t going to be your escort I started to wonder.” Alaric shrugged.

“Oh, he’s fine.” Elena reassured with a smile. “He’s just on a trip with his best friend at the moment.”

“Alaric.” John said as he walked in through the door. “Hey, buddy, what are you doing here?”

“I'm the chauffeur.” Alaric informed him.

“I thought I was driving.” John muttered, confused.

Elena walked out to Alarics car before she either punched John or started to laugh in his face.

Around 45 minutes later Jenna was helping Elena curl her hair as she was putting on her makeup. She chooses to go with natural colors on her makeup with winged eyeliner and dark red lips so most of the attention would be on her wine-colored dress.

“Thank you for helping me aunt Jenna.” Elena said softly.

“Don’t thank me until you're sure your hair isn’t going to burn off.” Jenna hummed with uncertainty.

“No really, thank you for being here.” Elena looked at Jenna seriously through the mirror. “It means a lot to me.”

“I feel honored that you want me here.” Jenna smiled with tears in her eyes.

When Jenna is done with her hair Elena got up and turned around to see Caroline standing a few paces away and gasped loudly. “Caroline!”

“What?” Caroline looked down on herself. “Is there something wrong with my dress? Is my makeup ruined?”

“No noting like that, sorry for worrying you, it’s just…” Elena was still looking at her wide eyed.

“Just what?” Caroline still looked worried.

“You look absolutely stunning.” Elena breathed out in awe. “You look like a fairytale princess.”

“Do you really mean that?” Caroline looked hopeful.

“I wouldn’t lie to you Caroline.” Elena reassured.

Elena and Caroline smiled at each other when there was a knock on the door and Carol Lockwood stuck her head inside. “Let’s go ladies, the line-up is starting.”

“Good luck Caroline, I'm rooting for you.” Elena smiled at her best friend.

Caroline and Elena are standing at the top of the stairs as they here Mayor Lockwood call out. “Miss. Tina Fell, escorted by Bartholomew Whitmore.”

Tina went down the stairs as Elena snorted and said quietly to herself, ‘The fastest man alive. The Flash.’

“What are you mumbling about?” Caroline asked.

“Nothing important.” Elena hummed.

Amber made her way down from the balcony as the mayor said, “Miss Amber Bradley with her escort Blake Davis.”

“So is Matt escorting you?” Elena asked quietly.

“No, he couldn’t get out of work.” Caroline looked down sadly.

“I'm sorry.” Elena said with sympathy.

“It’s not your fault.” Caroline smiled reassuringly at her friend.

“Miss. Caroline Forbes and her escort Jeffery Lockwood Hamilton.” Mayor Lockwood called out and Caroline took a deep breath and made her way down the stairs.

“Elena, you're next.” Carol smiled at her.

A few minutes later Mayor Lockwood called out for Elena. “Miss. Elena Gilbert, escorted by Damon Salvatore.”

Damon takes her hand when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Together they made walked outside, walking past Alaric and Jenna who his taking lots of photos on her phone. Damon and Elena took their positions for the dance and then they bow and curtsey to their respective partner.

The girls and their escorts started to dance and Elena smiled at Damon, she would never be able to thank him enough for doing this for her. When the dance ended Damon escorted Elena up on the stage so the winner could be crowned.

“Before I crown the winner, I’d like to offer a personal thank you to all these young ladies for their effort to better our community.” The mayor said with smarmy smile as the crowd applauded. “So, without further a due it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls; Miss Caroline Forbes.”

“You did it!” Elena beamed at Caroline, very happy she didn’t win, Elena hated to be the center of attention.

“I actually won!” Caroline laughed in disbelief.

“Of course, you did.” Elena managed to hug Caroline before the mayor put the banner around her shoulders.

“Are you sad that you didn’t win?” Damon asked as Elena rejoined him.

“Relived, actually.” Elena admitted.

“I thought this was every girls dream.” Damon smirked.

“I hate being the center of attention and if you hadn’t been waiting for me at the end of the stairs I would probably have bolted.” Elena blushed.

“You look so pretty Elena.” Anna told her as her and Jeremy walked up to Elena and Damon.

“Thank you.” Elena blushed. “You look really good to.”

“Thanks.” Anan smiled as she held Jeremys hand then she turned to Damon. “My mom wanted to talk to you, is it okay if we come over later?”

“That works for me.” Damon agreed.

“Elena, Jeremy, you two coming?” Jenna called out from Alaric’s car.

“We’ll be right there.” Jeremy called back.

“Thank you for making this an awesome day.” Elena kissed Damon on the cheek.

“Thank you for giving me the honor of being your escort.” Damon grabbed her hand and kissed the top of it.

As Elena and Jeremy were walking away Elena turned back towards Anna and said, “Tell your mom that I expect an invite to the grand opening of her store.”

“Absolutely.” Anna bounced in place with a bright smile.

A few hours later, around midnight when everyone in the Gilbert household were asleep, Elena was tossing and turning on the bed caught in a nightmare. Flashes of a dark being walking beside her, like it was trying to talk to her and protect her but something was interfering, something evil. Elena sat up with a frightened gasp, what the hell was going on?

**A/N: The chapter is done!**

**I hope you all liked it :)**

**How do you guys want me to handle Mason when he arrives?**

**As for the paring for Elena, I have cut most pairings from the tally due to the fact that they’ll never catch up.**

**The tally at the moment are:**

**Elijah: 49**

**Klaus: 45**

**Or a healthy Polyamory relationship between Elijah/Elena/Klaus: 9**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	12. Brothers Founding Isobel day

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Remember that in the rest of the story Alex will go by Elena!**

The next morning Elena looked like a warrior from olden times, her hair braided like a mohawk at the top off her head and lose in the back with several tiny braids hanging around the sides of her head with some going up into her mohawk braid.

She had on a pair of black artfully ripped jeans, a dark grey tunic that went around mid-thigh and had a sidelong cut at the bottom, a black zip-up hoddie and a pair of black combat boots.

“So, Alaric had some information on this whole thing?” Elena asked into her phone.

“Yeah and he was willing to share. Seems like your egg-donor is in Grove Hill.” Damon answered from the other end. “Alaric’s picking me up in an hour.”

“Have fun.” Elena told him. “And call if you want dinner at casa de Gilbert later.”

“I'm hoping I get to kill someone on this trip and that would be fun, so cross your fingers.” Damon laughed as he hung up.

As Elena closed her closet door and saw someone standing behind it. She reacted on the instinct that came from sparring with Damon and punched the someone in the face.

“Uncle John?!” Elena gasped when she saw who she had punched.

“Elena.” John rubbed the side of his face were Elena’s punch had landed. “That’s a good right hook.”

“Thank you.” Elena smirked devilishly. “I'm not sorry for punching you though. I mean you did sneak up on me so…”

“I guess I did deserve that punch.” John admitted.

“You did.” Elena nodded and thought quietly ‘and so much more, dickhead’.

“I just thought we could talk.” John said after a while. “We haven’t had a chance to catch up.”

‘There's a reason for that.’ Elena thought but out loud she said, “What did you want to talk about?”

“Well…I know you know.” John tried to be subtle and Elena saw an opportunity to be a bit of a bitch and hint very, very subtly that she knew that he was her bio-dad.

“How babies are made? Definitely.” Elena smiled innocently. “A few years too late there, Uncle John.”

“What? No!” John looked slightly disturbed by the thought. “It’s really silly to keep pretending. What would your mother say if she knew you were dating a vampire?”

“Who am I dating?” Elena asked, because as far as she knew she wasn’t dating anyone.

“Damon Salvatore.” John said like it was obvious.

“Hold that thought.” Elena pulled out her phone, dialed and put it on speaker.

“Miss me already, Elena?” Damon voice chuckled from the other end.

“Hey Damon.” Elena chirped and then she whispered without moving her lips so only Damon could hear her. “You’re on speaker with me and uncle John.”

“What can I help you with?” Damon asked with a laugh.

“I just wanted to know if you knew that we were dating, because I had no idea.” Elena hummed.

“We’re dating? Since when?” Damon asked sounding a bit weird but Elena pushed that to the back of her head.

“Apparently I'm dating a vampire, aka you.” Elena giggled. “Which is funny because as far as I knew I wasn’t dating anyone.”

“That must make the dating very exciting.” Damon said mock seriously.

“Oh very.” Elena agreed. “I seem to get around a lot too, first with Stefan and now you. I wonder who’s next.”

“Maybe Harper.” Damon hummed in thought. “Didn’t you agree to go shopping with him today? You did guilt me into paying for a new wardrobe for him.”

“Yeah and Pearl is coming to.” Elena responded with a smirk knowing that she hadn’t guilted him into anything, he had offered. “I'm helping her buy some new stuff for her store.”

“Have fun with that and say hello from me.” Damon chuckled. “I have to go now, seems like my ride is here. Bye Elena.”

“Bye Damon and have fun.” Elena raised an eyebrow at John as she hung up the phone and said, “Sorry, you were saying?”

“Really?” John asked.

“What?” Elena looked at him with big innocent eyes.

“So, Miss. Zhu found some property to buy then?” John asked to change the subject.

“Yeah she bought dad’s old office.” Elena smiled.

“She can’t have.” John denied.

“Well, she did.” Elena told him.

“No, really, she can’t have.” John repeated. “I have the last say in the selling of any property that used to belong to my brother and his wife.”

“Until either me or Jeremy became legal.” Elena nodded.

“Exactly!” John nodded. “And neither of you are off age and I haven’t signed over any property to her so that means she stole it!”

“You might not have signed over a property to her, but I did.” Elena smirked.

“You are not legal yet.” John said with a glare.

“Not by age, no.” Elena shrugged, still smirking. “But by emancipation? Absolutely.”

“But…she’s a vampire!” John glared at her.

“And…?” Elena drawled. God, he was such a hypocrite.

“She kills people!” John fumed.

“This conversation is boring me.” Elena sneered and walked away.

XOXOXOX

“Come on Harper.” Elena begged. “Can you just show us?”

Elena was sitting outside a fitting room in a men’s clothing store with Pearl, waiting for Harper to come out in one of the outfits she had chosen for him.

“But what if I look bad?” came Harper’s muffled voice from within the fitting room.

“You won’t, I would never have you try on clothes that would make you look bad.” Elena promised. “And if you don’t like the style then we’ll try something else.”

“Okay.” Harper said as he came out.

Beside her Pearl gasped and Elena smiled brightly. Harper looked really good in the dark blue dress pants matched with brown shoes and a brown belt topped off with a light blue button up shirt and a light grey coat.

“Does it look bad?” Harper looked at Pearl when she gasped.

“You look very good, Harper.” Pearl smiled at him.

“The important questions are; Do you like the style and do you feel comfortable?” Elena asked seriously.

“Yes, I do like the style of the clothes.” Harper smiled slightly as he looked at himself in the mirror. “And I feel very comfortable. Thank you, Miss. Gilbert, for your expertise in this matter.”

“You are very welcome.” Elena smiled, then she added. “And you can call me Elena.”

“Of course, Miss. Elena.” Harper bowed his head at her.

Elena smiled and decided to leave that discussion for another time as she called over a sales person. When the young person came over Elena looked at the androgynous appearance and decided to ask. “Not to seem rude, but what pronoun do you prefer?”

“Thank you for asking.” The person smiled brightly looking very happy at getting asked. “I prefer the pronoun they/them but you could always just call me Ezra. Not many people actually take the time to ask and just assume so thank you again for asking.”

“No problem. I just think it’s better to ask then to just assume.” Elena smiled back. “Anyway, Ezra, I was wondering if you could help us?”

“I’ll do my very best.” Ezra nodded, ready to work.

“I want these pants” Elena gestured at the pants Harper was wearing. “In dark brown, dark grey and black plus the ones he’s already wearing.”

Ezra pulled out a notepad and started to write everything down.

“I want the shirt in the same style but in several different colors, both light and dark but no neon or print.” Elena continued. “Say five light colored ones, including the one he’s wearing and five dark colored ones.”

Both Harper and Pearl looked at Elena with big eyes as she gave Ezra orders.

“Four belts, the one he’s wearing and one in the same style except in black and then two belts in a thicker style in brown and black.” Elena was almost done and finished with, “And the gray coat he’s wearing plus one in the same style in black.”

“I will get right on that.” Ezra smiled and called over another sales person to get them to start getting all of the items that Elena ordered. Then they turned to Harper. “If you could go back into the fitting room and change back into your clothes, we will take these to the check out after we have taken all the sizes.”

Harper nodded and walked back into the fitting room to do as requested.

“How long will this take?” Elena asked. “I only ask because we can go and do our other errands and come back later if that works for you?”

“That would be really helpful.” Ezra smiled. “That way we won’t have to feel any stress. If I could just have your phone number, I’ll text you when your order is done.”

“Sound good.” Elena smiled and rattled off her phone number just as Harper came out of the fitting room, back in the clothes he had on when they arrived.

Elena said bye to Ezra and together with Harper and Pearl, she left the store to go get whatever it was that Pearl was looking for.

XOXOXOX

Several hours later Elena was making tacos in the Gilbert kitchen when Anna and Jeremy walked in.

“Hey guys, you staying for dinner?” Elena looked at them and smiled.

“We’d love to.” Jeremy walked over to hug his sister.

“By the way, Elena, you did an amazing job with the clothes for Harper.” Anna smiled.

“Thank you.” Elena blushed slightly. “I just hope he is happy and comfortable.”

“He looked very happy as he showed them off to me and Jeremy.” Anna reassured.

“That’s great.” Elena said as she placed the chopped tomatoes in a bowl. “Could you guys set the table for 4?”

“Is aunt Jenna joining us?” Jeremy asked as he pulled four plates from the cabinet.

“Nope, she's on a date with Ric.” Elena informed him. “Damon is on his way, he just wanted to take a shower before he came over.”

“Which I did and now I have arrived.” Damon said dramatically as he walked in.

“Hello Damon, you are just in time.” Elena said as she placed the last bowl on the dinner table. “Anna, Damon, do you want blood or soda with the food?”

“Soda’s fine.” Anna smiled and sat down.

“Both if that’s okay?” Damon asked.

“Of course.” Elena hummed as she walked over to the fridge to get the soda and the blood.

“Thank you.” Damon smiled as she gave him the blood in a tall glass.

“So, how was the ‘errand’?” Elena asked after a while.

“Futile.” Damon took a bite out of his taco. “Although, I think I witnessed the teacher having an existential crisis.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Jeremy asked.

“Oh, right.” Elena smiled and proceeded to tell him and Anna about what had been going on.

“So not only does your uncle want the device my mom has but your biological mother is in town?” Anna groaned.

“Seems like it.” Elena shrugged, then she smirked. “And on my uncle, I might have punched him in the face earlier today.”

“What?” Jeremy chuckled.

“He snuck up on me and since Damon has been training me, my natural response to that is to punch.” Elena giggled. “He did compliment my right hook though.”

“I wish you had gotten it on film.” Anna said wishfully. “He accused my mother of manipulating you into selling the property to her.”

“Okay, now I want to punch him.” Jeremy growled, he liked Pearl even if she hadn’t like him at first.

“I don’t know if that is an insult to me or a compliment to your mom?” Elena hummed.

“What do you mean?” Anna sipped her soda.

“Well, either uncle John is insulting me by calling me naïve enough to be manipulated or he’s complimenting your mom for being cunning enough to manipulate me into selling.” Elena explained her thoughts.

Annas phone started to ring before she could say anything. “Hey mom!...What?!...Is she okay?”

Anna started to breath heavily, having a hard time talking so Elena grabbed the phone. “This is Elena.”

“Hello Miss. Elena.” Harper sounded rattled on the other end. “Is Miss. Anna okay?”

“She's doing okay, Jeremy is helping her calm down.” Elena reassured. “What is going on?”

“Jonathan Gilbert tried to stake Miss. Pearl a few minutes ago.” Harper explained. “Luckily he only caught her shoulder before I broke his neck but I wanted to warn Miss. Annabelle.”

“Shit, shit, shit.” Elena cursed lowly.

“I'm sorry for killing you Uncle, Miss. Elena.” Harper sounded apologetic.

“That’s just the thing, you and Pearl need to get out of there.” Elena insisted. “He has a ring that will bring him back!”

“What?” Harper gasped.

“I can’t explain now but if you and Pearl can get to the Gilbert house I can explain then.” Elena told him. “And then Pearl, Anna and you can move into the Gilbert cabin until you can buy something else.”

“We’ll be there in half an hour.” Elena heard Pearl say before Harper hung up.

“Hey Anna, breath for me, your mom and Harper are on their way here and they are both okay.” Elena pulled the relived vampiress into a hug.

XOXOXOX

Later that night, after Elena, Jeremy and Damon had helped Anna, Pearl and Harper move into the Gilbert cabin and agreed to not tell anyone where they were staying, Elena was talking to Stefan on the phone.

“I’m happy that you're back, Stefan.” Elena smiled as she chose clothes for the next day.

“It’s nice to be back.” Stefan hummed. “Thank you for calling Lexi.”

“You are very welcome.” Elena giggled. “Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah I'm back on a ‘vegetarian’ diet.” Stefan assured her.

“That’s not what I asked, Stefan.” Elena said softly. “I asked if you are feeling better?”

“I think so,” Stefan mumbled. “I'm not really sure yet.”

“Well, tell me if there is anything I can help with.” Elena murmured softly. As Elena turned around, she taught she saw a dark shape watching her from the corner of her room but when she turned to look there was nothing there.

“Elena? Elena?!” Stefan called out from the phone.

“Huh?” Elena was feeling a little shaken. “Sorry, I just thought I saw… Never mind, it was nothing.”

“Are you okay?” Stefan sounded worried.

“Yeah I'm fine.” Elena chuckled. “I'm just tired.”

“Okay if you're sure.” Stefan said hesitantly. “Then I wish you a good night and pleasant dreams.”

“Thank you and I wish you the same.” Elena yawned. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” Stefan repeated and hung up.

Elena put down her phone on her night stand, looking around the room as the feeling of being watched never went away. She felt like the being watching her didn’t want to harm her but it was also very old and very powerful.

As she was about to fall asleep after getting into bed, she thought she felt a cold but gentle hand stroke the side of her face and a whisper on the wind wishing her a nice rest.

XOXOXOX

The next morning Elena was wearing jean shorts, knee high socks, a black tank top and one of Jeremys hoddies as she walked around the kitchen, trying to find an apple or something to eat as she talked to Damon and Stefan on the phone.

“I'm supposed to help build the Miss Mystic float for the Founders’ Day parade, if I don’t I get the wrath of Caroline and that scares me more than anything.” Elena chuckled. “But I just wanted to ask if you or Stefan were in my room yesterday after I had finished talking to Stefan?”

“I wasn’t and Stefan is shaking his head.” Damon told her. “Why do you ask?”

“I sort of knew it wasn’t either of you but I thought I’d ask.” Elena hummed, taking a bite of an apple she had found and chewing slowly. “I have had this feeling of being watched, not all the time but sometimes and yesterday I thought I felt someone stroke my face just before I fell asleep.”

“Are you okay?!” Stefan’s worried voice called out.

“Yeah, it didn’t feel evil just…old.” Elena murmured.

“What do you mean when you say ‘old’?” Damon asked slowly.

“It’s hard to explain.” Elena shrugged and made her way out the door to her bike. “What ever it was it had a feeling of being very old.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Damon muttered.

“I was thinking about calling Bree and ask her but right now I have to go.” Elena said as she stood in front of her bike. “Stefan, I’ll see you at school in a few minutes and Damon I’ll talk to you later. Bye”

“Good bye and be careful.” Damon told her as he hung up.

Some time later Elena was standing beside Stefan as she listened to Alaric giving instructions to everyone.

“So, these are the specs for the History department.” Alaric said as he handed out papers. “For the Founders’ Day float, we’ll be recreating the battle of Willow Creek. Tyler has been nominated to be the head of the production design.”

“By who?” Tyler gapped at Alaric.

“By whom.” Alaric corrected. “And by me, I've seen your sketches and they're really good.”

“I'm not really into the…” Tyler trailed off.

“Well, you just pick your team, be creative and don’t screw up.” Alaric smirked at him.

“Heya Ric.” Elena smiled as he came over to her and Stefan.

“Come with me, we need to talk.” Alaric said quietly. “And can one of you call Damon?”

“I’ll do it.” Stefan said as he pulled out his phone.

“You are awfully quiet Elena.” Alaric said as he leaned against his desk.

“Well, of course.” Elena hummed pleasantly. “No one plans murder out loud.”

“What?” Alaric spluttered, shocked, while Stefan laughed.

“I'm trying to plan the best way of making my uncles future death look like an accident.” Elena told him casually. “I was thinking about making it look like he fell down the stairs or maybe ask Damon to hold him down while I fired a stake at his heart and make it look like a vampire hunting accident.”

“Elena!” Alaric sounded appalled. “You can’t just kill your uncle!”

“Why the fuck not?!” Elena cursed while throwing her hands up. “He tried to kill my little brothers’ girlfriends’ mother and my new friend Harper. That deserves at least a little murder.”

Alaric looked at her with wide horrified eyes as Stefan had to lean against a desk to not fall to the floor as he laughed, tears running down his face.

Stefan had managed to calm down by the time Damon arrived with a “Sorry I'm late, my dog ate my uh… never mind.”

“Thanks for coming Damon.” Alaric sounded relived.

“Have you been crying?” Damon asked as he looked at Stefan.

“Tears of laughter.” Stefan chuckled. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Okay then.” Damon shrugged. “Why are we all here?”

“I saw Isobel last night.” Alaric informed them.

“I do NOT need to know about your naughty dreams about my bio-mom.” Elena groaned in disgust.

“I think he meant here, in town, Elena.” Damon smirked at her.

“Oh, well, that makes a lot more sense.” Elena shifted awkwardly.

“Did you ask her about uncle John?” Damon turned to Alaric again. “Are they working together?”

“No.” Alaric answered simply.

“No, they're not?” Damon huffed out, annoyed.

“No, I didn’t ask.” Alaric clarified.

“What about the invention?” Damon asked.

“Didn’t ask.” Alaric admitted.

“Did she know about the tomb vampires?” Damon wondered.

“I don’t know.” Alaric rubbed the back off his neck.

“Did words completely escape you?” Damon raised an eyebrow at Alaric.

“No, I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask questions.” Alaric defended himself.

“Elena wouldn’t have frozen.” Damon mocked the teacher. “What did she want, anyway?”

“She wanted me to set up a meeting between her and Elena.” Alaric informed them. “I don’t know why or what she wants.”

“You don’t have to see her if you don’t want to.” Damon looked at Elena with a gentle look in his eyes.

“She threatened to go on a killing spree if Elena didn’t meet her.” Alaric said.

“I don’t really care.” Elena shrugged. “But I sort of want to meet her just to have a chance to stab her if nothing else.”

“Come on my stab happy little friend.” Damon laughed. “I’ll drive.”

“I'm not little!” Elena argued with a pout.

“Of course not.” Stefan chuckled as he joined them.

Around forty minutes later Elena was sitting alone at a table at the grill while Stefan was standing by the pool table in case he was needed.

“I am so bored.” Elena groaned loudly and when an elder woman looked at her strangely as she walked past Elenas table, she glared and asked. “What are you looking at?”

“Rude.” The woman huffed and moved on with her nose in the air.

“Hello Elena.” Isobel said as she sat down opposite of Elena. “You look just like her, that’s eerie.”

“That was the worst sort of name baiting I have ever heard.” Elena snorted. “So, you’ve met Kathrine? Congratulations. If that’s all, I'm going to go now.”

“Kathrine found me after I was turned.” Isobel said as Elena made a motion to get up. “Genetic curiosity, I suppose. She would be fascinated by you.”

“God you are pathetic.” Elena groaned. “You know the only reason that I showed up was so that I could stab you if the opportunity presented itself.”

“Acting all nonchalant and unafraid is not cute.” Isobel sneered.

“Who’s acting?” Elena hummed as she leaned back.

“Your new boyfriend over there by the pool table? Stefan Salvatore.” Isobel looked over at Stefan with a smirk. “Why Stefan? Why didn’t you go for Damon? Or are you enjoying them both like Kathrine did?”

“Why does everyone assume I'm dating Stefan or Damon?! Like seriously, can’t a girl have male friends without them automatically dating?” Elena blurts out annoyed. “Why did you want to meet me, anyway?”

“Because I'm curious about you.” Isobel said and Elena just looked at her with a ‘bitch please’ expression. “But the real reason is; I want what your uncle wants. Jonathan Gilbert’s invention.”

“I don’t have it and even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.” Elena stood up to leave but Isobel caught her arm and forced her down in her seat again.

“Sit down.” Isobel ordered her. “And tell Stefan to walk away.”

“Are you serious?” Elena snorted. “You do know that Stefan is both older and stronger than you right? That means in a fight between you two he wouldn’t even have to try before he gives you the final death.”

“I want the invention.” Isobel demanded but she looked a little uncertain.

“I don’t have it.” Elena smirked.

“I know that but Damon does and you're going to get it for me.” Isobel insisted.

“No, I won’t.” Elena told her coldly.

“Then the blood will be on your hands.” Isobel got up to leave.

“No, the blood will be on your hands because you will be the one to do the deed.” Elena sneered at her unimpressed. “I'm not forcing you to do anything and I'm definitely not holding a gun to your head.”

“It was nice meeting you Elena.” Isobel said as she left.

“Get fucked.” Elena muttered back.

“Are you okay?” Bonnie asked as she came over to Elena.

“Yeah I just got this urge to stab my bio-mom.” Elena shrugged. “How about you?”

“I miss my best friend.” Bonnie admitted and looked at Elena.

“I miss you to but I can’t be around you if you are only going to blame Stefan and Damon for something they had no control over.” Elena said sadly.

“I can try to stop thinking like that but it is going to take time.” Bonnie mumbled. “But I would appreciate my best friend telling me when I'm getting all judgmental again. So, will you please forgive me?”

“I forgive you Bon.” Elena hugged her, thinking that maybe she had gotten through to Bonnie.

XOXOXOX

The next day Elena walked into the school, having promised Bonnie she would meet her in the English classroom.

“Hey, thanks for meeting me.” Bonnie smiled as she leafed through Emily's grimoire. “I wanted you to see this.”

“Is that Emily’s witches’ cookbook?” Elena asked as she sat down by Bonnie.

“I've been going through it since Grams died.” Bonnie said and showed her an open passage in the book. “Check this out.”

“That’s the vampire compass.” Elena hummed as she looked closer at the pages.

“Yeah, according to Emily, Jonathan Gilbert never actually managed to successfully invent anything. Emily secretly spelled them all with magic.” Bonnie sounded very proud of her ancestor as she flipped a couple of pages to show the device everyone was so interested in. “Compass, ring and the mystery device you told me about.”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Elena looked at the device depicted in the book. “Damon only has the one piece of it.”

“While Emily pledged her loyalties to Kathrine, she couldn’t stand by and watch innocent people get killed.” Bonnie tried to keep the righteousness out of her voice but Elena caught it anyway. “This was the only way she could think of to help. To let Jonathan Gilbert believe that he’d actually invented these devices.”

“Does it say what it does?” Elena asked but if she remembered correctly it stopped vampires by making a high-pitched sound only someone with supernatural hearing could hear, or something like that.

“Are you sure this is what Isobel wants?” Bonnie asked after she read through the pages.

“Yeah I'm sure.” Elena nodded. “Why?”

“This is a weapon.” Bonnie said. “Against vampires.”

A while later Elena and Bonnie had rejoined the float preparations and Elena was walking around looking for Stefan outside the school when Jeremy walked up to her.

“Elena.” Jeremy smiled at her.

“Hey Jeremy.” Elena looked around. “Have you seen Stefan?”

“No, not lately.” Jeremy shrugged. “Want me to help you look?”

“That would be appreciated, thank you.” Elena smiled in thanks.

“We’ll split up so we can cover more ground.” Jeremy kissed on the cheek and started to leave. “I’ll call if I find him.”

“Thanks Jeremy.” Elena called after him, then she turned around to see Isobel standing right there.

“Isobel.” Elena sneered. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm your mother, Elena.” Isobel smiled condescendingly at her. “I want to be more involved in your life.”

“Pull the other one, it has bells on it.” Elena snorted. “And even if that was true, I don’t want you in my life.”

“I understand that. You already have a lot of people you care about but I've been studying you” Isobel smirked.

“Stalker alert.” Elena muttered

“Let’s see if I got this right.” Isobel looked over at Bonnie. “There is the witchy best friend, Bonnie. Going to stay away from that one.” She looked the way Jeremy had left. “Little brother Jeremy.” Then she turned to watch Caroline. “And there’s Caroline…obnoxious Caroline. I got all my info from her by the way. She had no idea who I was and she wouldn’t stop yapping.”

“Oh, she knew who you were.” Elena smirked. “So, how sure are you that the information she gave is accurate?”

“And then there’s Matt, friend, ex, yappy’s future ex.” Isobel tried to hide the uncertainty in her voice. “Lots of connections there.”

“Can you just go away?” Elena groaned. “No one want you here.”

“You need to be a bit nicer to me, I have some friends here to.” Isobel gestured towards a man standing by Matt who was working on a float. “You see that man over there? His name is frank, he’s very handsome and he’s also very handy and he’d noticed that the axles are a little rusty which is very dangerous. So, all you have to do is apply a little bit of pressure and…”

In some ways Elena thought Matt would deserve to get hurt after the way Caroline had cried as she told him how he treated her, making her feel bad about herself and trying to change her.

“You are such a bitch!” Elena growled as Frank jumped on the trailer above Matt, making the trailer break and Matt’s arm got stuck under it. Elena started to make her way over but was stopped by Isobel grabbing her arm.

“I'm just showing you how easy it is to hurt the people you care about.” Isobel smiled.

“You really need to get away from me!” Elena glared at her bio-mom.

“Hand over Jonathan Gilberts device and everything will stop.” Isobel promised.

“I thought vampires were supposed to have good hearing?” Elena sneered. “Damon is not going to give up the device, not to anyone.”

“I think that you underestimate how much Damon cares for you.” Isobel chuckled.

“He will kill you before he gives it up.” Elena shrugged.

“Is that before or after I kill you little brother?” Isobel asked pleasantly.

Elena started to look around frantically for her brother. “Jeremy!” Elena turned back to rip Isobel a new one only to see that she was gone to.

“If one single hair on my brothers’ head is hurt, I'm going to cut a bitch!” Elena ranted as she silently planned the most painful, horrific ways to kill someone.

XOXOXOX

Elena walked into the boarding house followed by Stefan and Bonnie. Bonnie had said she could spell the device useless but Elena knew she wouldn’t do it, her hate for vampires ran to deep and it didn’t just take a day or two to get over that.

“Damon.” Elena smiled sadly as she walked into the parlor.

“What’s with the sad face?” Damon asked softly.

“Isobel took Jeremy.” Elena couldn’t stop the tears from falling anymore.

“Hey, hey, it’s going to be okay.” Damon pulled her into a hug as she sobbed into his chest.

Elena knew that Jeremy would be fine, he was in future episodes but at the same time she couldn’t risk it. She didn’t know what she would do if she lost her little brother but it would be bloody and very painful for those involved in Jeremys death!

“What do you need?” Damon asked softly.

“Isobel said she wanted the device or she would kill Jeremy.” Elena sniffled as she pulled back.

“I can’t just give up the device to Isobel so she can give it to John who will turn it on to kill me.” Damon looked regretfully at Elena. “I like being a living dead person.”

“I can remove the original spell on it.” Bonnie piped up. “John and Isobel will never know.”

“I don’t trust her.” Damon said to Elena who mouthed ‘Neither do I’ back to him but the desperation was shining through her eyes so Damon sighed and turned a glare in Bonnies direction. “Are you even up for this? I mean, all offence meant, you are no Emily Bennett.”

“He’s right.” Stefan agreed, having hidden a snort by couching. “Emily knew what she was doing.”

“I've been practicing.” Bonnie defended herself.

“It’s not piano lessons, honey!” Damon mocked her.

“What’s your favorite book?” Bonnie demanded to know.

“What's that got to do with anything?” Damon asked.

“Name a book, any book.” Bonnie ordered.

“Call of the wild by Jack London.” Damon said after a while.

Bonnie concentrated for a while and suddenly a book flew into Damons hands.

“Jack London.” Damon looked at the cover. “Great parlor trick.”

“Please Damon.” Elena pleaded. “It’s my little brother.”

“Fine, for you Elena.” Damon sighed, then he turned to Bonnie with a glare. “I don’t trust you.”

“Thank you.” Elena almost collapsed in relief, then she whispered so only Damon and Stefan could hear her. “Can I talk to you in the kitchen?”

“I'm going to get something to drink while you set up the spell.” Damon muttered and walked away towards the kitchen.

“I need to go to the bathroom and Stefan could you please call aunt Jenna and tell her what’s going on?” Elena asked as she to walked away.

“Sure.” Stefan smiled and made his way out of the room, pretending that his phone was in his room.

“We can’t trust Bonnie to do the spell.” Elena said quietly to the Salvatore brothers when they all made it to the kitchen. “But even if she doesn’t do the spell I will try and steal the device back from uncle John.”

“Isn’t she your friend?” Stefan asked. “Why wouldn’t she do the spell?”

“She hates vampires and she blames you and me for her grandmother’s death.” Damon shrugged.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Elena declared. “Sheila should have thought about the consequences of her actions.”

“What if you can’t steal the device back?” Damon looked at Elena.

“Then I’ll try and find out when it will be used so you, Stefan, Anna, Pearl and Harper are far enough away not to be affected by it.” Elena promised and walked back into the parlor were Bonnie was setting up.

“I just need the device.” Bonnie looked up at Damon as he and Stefan reentered.

Damon handed it over with a glare and Bonnie began the spell as Stefan, Elena and Damon watched.

“It’s done.” Bonnie declared and gave the device to Elena.

“Thank you, Bonnie.” Elena smiled, hoping that if Bonnie hadn’t done the spell, she would feel guilty for lying to a friend.

“Now what?” Damon asked.

“Now we give it to Isobel.” Elena said as she made her way out of the boarding house.

Elena had been standing at the town square waiting for Isobel for a while when she arrived behind her.

“Where is the device?” Isobel asked.

“Where is my brother?” Elena asked back.

“This isn’t a negotiation.” Isobel glared. “Where is the device?”

“No brother, no device.” Elena shrugged and turned to leave.

“Do you really think that I came alone?” Isobel smirked as two people arrived stopping Elena from leaving.

“Did you think I did?” Elena turned to look at Isobel with an unimpressed sneer as Damon and Stefan appeared.

“For god sakes.” Isobel sighed. “Call home.”

Elena quickly pulled her phone out and called Jeremy.

“Hello?” Jeremy answered after the third ring.

“Jeremy are you okay?” Elena asked softly.

“Yeah I'm fine but uncle John took a hit to the head.” Jeremy informed her with a chuckle. “We are back home with aunt Jenna.”

“We are all laughing.” Elena heard Jenna call out.

“But yeah, I'm okay.” Jeremy assured her.

“Movies and ice-cream when I get home?” Elena asked with a smile.

“Absolutely.” Jeremy agreed. “I’ll invite Anna and we can watch ‘The Empire Strikes Back’.”

“Sounds good to me.” Elena giggled and hung up, then she turned and glared at Isobel as she handed over the device. “Lucky for you he wasn’t hurt.”

“I wasn’t going to hurt him; I was going to kill him.” Isobel shrugged. “Don’t look for any redeeming qualities in me, I don’t have any.”

“You took a risk with Damon.” Elena hummed. “We might be friends but that was no guarantee that he was going to give me the device.”

“There wasn’t a risk at all, I knew he was going to give the device to you.” Isobel smirked. “Because he is in love with you.”

“No, he’s not.” Elena said with certainty.

“Goodbye, Elena.” Isobel chuckled. “As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you’re doomed. Kathrine was smart, she got out, but we all know that you're not Kathrine.”

“Hey Isobel.” Elena called out as Isobel started to walked away, when she turned back towards Elena, she aimed her vervain filled water gun straight at Isobel’s face and pulled the trigger. “That was for taking my baby brother in the first place.”

Elena turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Isobel holding her face and cursing and screaming in pain. Stefan and Damon joined her on either side and she smiled at them “Thank you for coming with me.”

“No problem.” Stefan smiled.

“I loved the ending though.” Damon laughed.

“She deserved it.” Elena growled.

“Oh definitely.” Damon agreed with a smirk as Stefan laughed.

“Elena?” Damon asked hesitantly after they had dropped Elena off at the Gilbert house. “Why did you sound so certain when you said I wasn’t in love with you?”

“Because you can’t be.” Elena smiled softly. “I’m not the sort of person people like, I'm weird, to blunt, I don’t care about people that aren’t close friends or family and most of the time I have very dark humor that puts people off.”

“Elena.” Stefan said sadly.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Elena stopped before she opened the door to her house. “I accepted that about myself a long time ago. Anyway, good night and sleep tight.”

Elena walked in and closed the door, ready to join Anna and Jeremy on the couch for some Star Wars and ice-cream, but first, when she saw that Anna hadn’t arrived yet, she went in to the kitchen where she could see John sitting with Jenna.

“Hello, uncle John.” Elena smiled pleasantly and then she rammed his head into the breakfast bar.

“What the heck, Elena?!” John called out in pain as Jenna looked on in uncertainty.

“If you ever, and I do mean ever, try and kill my friend or Jeremys girlfriends’ mother again.” Elena spoke darkly. “I will make your death look like an accident, you get that?”

“They are vampires.” John tried to defend his actions.

“And you are an ass. Are we done stating the obvious?” Elena muttered.

“Seriously, John?” Jenna huffed. “You can’t just kill someone because of what they are, that’s discrimination.”

“If you want to be in mine and Jeremys life’s you will have to accept that we are friend with vampires.” Elena slowly let John up. “I don’t expect you to be happy about it, I don’t even expect you to be friendly with them, what I do expect is for you to be civil when you talk to them and not try to kill them.”

“Okay.” John said quietly.

“Good, then you should probably leave before Anna gets here.” Elena smirked. “You did just try and kill her mother recently.”

Elena then grabbed three spoons and a carton of ice-creme and walked into the living room where Jeremy had fixed so everything was ready for the movie night, the only thing missing was Anna.

XOXOXOX

Elena woke up early on the day of the Founder’s Day parade. She taken a long warm shower and she was about to put on her makeup in the bathroom mirror when she froze. In the valley between her breasts there was two dark tattoos like marks.

Elena took off her bra so she could see the marks better and leaned closer to the mirror. One of the marks looked almost like the Viking rune _YR_ which meant _death_ , _end_ or _war_ except the lines were more flowing. The second mark almost looked like the Viking rune _ALGIZ_ which meant _life_ , _beginning_ and _protection,_ this mark was also more flowing than the original.

“What the fuck is going on?” Elena muttered to herself. She decided to talk to Damon and Stefan at a later date, she just wanted the Founders’ Day parade out of the way first.

Around an hour later, Jenna was helping Elena with her Founders’ Day parade dress. She had refused to use the one Elena had used in the show, mustard-ish yellow really wasn’t her color. Instead she had chosen a dress in almost the same design except it was red and black.

“Did woman in the 1800s learn not to breath?” Elena gasped as Jenna tightened the corset of the dress.

“Suck it in, baby.” Jenna laughed.

After the torture device…eh…corset was tied and Elena had put on a choker, which she had borrowed from Anna, that matched the dress, she made her way down the stairs.

“You look radiant, Lena.” Jeremy, who was dressed as soldier, kissed her on the cheek.

“Thank you, kind sir.” Elena curtsied with a giggle. “You look very handsome.”

“Thanks.” Jeremy blushed a little, then he turned around to open the door when someone knocked.

“Hey Anna, you look beautiful.” Jeremy said wide eyed as he looked at Anna who was on the other side of the door.

“Thank you, Jeremy.” Anna smiled brightly. “Never thought I would get a chance to wear my old clothes again.”

“Is it true that you learned how not to breath?” Elena asked as she tried to take a deep breath.

“The trick isn’t not to breath,” Anna smirked. “It’s to learn how to breath in the right way.”

“And the right way being?” Elena wondered.

“Instead of breathing with your entire ribcage you just breath with your upper chest.” Anna explained as she demonstrated. “Just breath normally as you use the upper chest and you’ll be fine.”

Elena tried to breath as Anna instructed and noticed that it became easier the longer she did it, “Thank you, Anna, you’re a life saver.”

“No problem.” Anna giggled. “Are you two ready to go?”

“Yeah, we’re just waiting for aunt Jenna.” Jeremy kissed Anna softly. “She’s our chauffer for today.”

“And here I am.” Jenna walked in from the kitchen with a camera. “I need pictures!”

“Aunt Jenna.” Elena chuckled but went to stand beside Jeremy while Anna was on his other side.

After a lot of pictures had been taken, they finally arrived at the high school and split up so they could go find their respective places.

Elena saw Damon and Stefan standing talking some paces away and started to make her way over to them, Stefan was wearing regular clothes, not having to be in the parade, but Damon was dressed as an 1800s gentlemen in a dark charcoal grey suit whit a brown tie thing and a red waistcoat to match her dress.

She smiled and curtsied at them when they saw her approaching them.

“You look absolutely stunning.” Damon murmured as he kissed the back of her hand.

“He’s right, you look beautiful.” Stefan smiled as he kissed her other hand.

“And you both look very dashing.” Elena complimented with a giggle.

They walked around while Damon and Stefan told her what they had found out about John and his connection to Isobel and her.

“Huh.” Elena hummed when they were done.

Damon laughed and smirkingly held out a hand towards Stefan, “Told you it wouldn’t face her, pay up.”

“Damn.” Stefan grumbled and gave Damon a twenty, then he mock glared at Elena. “Couldn’t you have reacted like a normal person for once?”

“Stefan, sweetie, normal people freak me out.” Elena patted his cheek.

“Understandable.” Damon nodded seriously. Then all three of them started to laugh.

“What am I supposed to do now?” Elena giggled. “Give John a cake that says ‘Congratulations, it’s a teenaged girl!’?”

“Can I be there when you do?” Damon looked delighted at the prospect, “Maybe he’ll have a heart attack.”

“Damon!” Stefan laughed.

“What?” Damon smirked.

“You two should make your way over to the Miss Mystic float.” Stefan smirked, happy that he could just be in the crowed.

“Do we have to?” Elena groaned, not looking forward to standing up on a float and have everyone staring at her.

“Come on, you’ll do fine.” Damon reassured her and led her away towards the right float.

As the floats started to parade Elena could hear Carol Lockwood commenting. “Let’s give a big hand to the Mystic Fall’s Marching Band!” The crowd applauded and whistled.

“And for a little local history, Mr. Saltzman’s students have recreated Virginia’s Battle of Willow Creek.” Carol’s voiced sounded.

“I hope Stefan or Jenna takes pictures of Jeremy on that float.” Elena whispered to Damon with giggle.

Carol’s voice came over the speakers again. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our stunning Miss Mystic Falls Court and their handsome escorts.”

“Are you going to frame them to?” Damon asked out of the corner of his mouth even as they both started to smile and wave at the crowd.

“This is Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystic Falls.” You could hear the smile in Carol’s voice.

“Of course, I'm going to frame it.” Elena smiled brightly, then she saw Bonnie and Stefan standing in the crowd so she waved at them with a smile.

“Let’s cheer for the Mystic Fall’s high school football team.” Carol called out. “Alright! Let’s show them our support, everybody!”

XOXOXOX

A few hours later Elena, Damon, Stefan and Jeremy walked around the town, waiting for the firework display, all off them back in modern clothes.

“Where is Anna?” Elena looked around.

“She went home to change and said she would meet us here when she was done.” Jeremy told her.

“Okay, I hope she gets here before the fireworks.” Elena smiled.

“What’s with the look?” Damon asked Elena after a while, seeing her frown.

“I was thinking about liquid vervain and tattoos.” Elena hummed. “Would a tattoo made with ink mixed with vervain work against vampires?”

“That is a really genius idea, at least if it works.” Stefan muttered. “Sadly, I can’t answer with certainty. Do you know, Damon?”

“I don’t know but if it did that would be great.” Damon looked thoughtful.

“But what if you have a tattoo like that made when you're human but then get turned into a vampire?” Elena wondered slowly. “Would that be like having a spot on your body constantly burning or would you get used to it?”

“Planning something?” Jeremy asked with a smirk.

“Huh?” Elena looked at him and shrugged. “No, I wasn’t thinking about turning, I'm only seventeen, maybe in the future though. I was thinking more along the lines if Damon or Stefan had given me their blood to heal something and then later I, I don’t know, fell down the stair and died.”

“Guys, we have a problem!” Anna came running up to them.

“Are you okay?” Jeremy asked, instantly worried.

“Yeah I'm fine but the vampires from the tomb are planning an attack tonight.” Anna looked at them.

“How do you know?” Stefan asked.

“I heard two of them talking so I went to their meeting.” Anna explained. “They think I'm with them but I'm not. They want the Founding Families dead.”

“When is the attack supposed to happen?” Damon asked, already planning and calculating.

“When the fireworks start.” Anna told him.

“John Gilbert wants to use the device on them.” Damon groaned.

“Then we can’t be here!” Anna sounded scared.

“We don’t know if the device will work.” Elena said softly. “Bonnie was supposed to deactivate it but her hate for vampires is very deep so I don’t think she actually did.”

“Elena.” Jeremy walked over to his sister when he saw the tears in her eyes.

“I'm so sorry, I thought I would have more time to get the device from uncle John.” Elena said heavily, worried about her friends.

“Hey, we don’t blame you, Elena.” Damon pulled her into a hug.

“We’ll just have to plan for both scenarios.” Stefan hummed in thought.

“Anna and Jeremy, I want you two to go to the Gilbert cabin and be on standby with Harper and Pearl to come to the rescue if the device is deactivated.” Damon ordered as he quickly came up with a plan. “We will arm the ones in the know with vervain and stakes just in case.”

“Sound good.” Anna agreed and pulled Jeremy with her as she left to go to the Gilbert cabin.

“Stefan, Elena, I want you two to walk around and help protect people if they get attacked. I would love to tell you to go home Elena but I know you would laugh in my face for that.” Damon sighed. “I’ll go talk to Ric and Jenna and tell them what’s going on.”

“But what if Bonnie didn’t deactivate it?” Elena asked. “Then you and Stefan will be in danger.”

“We’ll be fine.” Damon smirked at her.

“If either of you get killed because of this, I'm going to bring you back just so I can kill you myself for being a reckless idiot.” Elena glared at the Salvatore brothers before she walked off with a huff, Stefan following behind her with a chuckle.

Elena and Stefan had been walking around for a while when Stefan suddenly fell to his knees holding his head.

“Stefan!” Elena ran up to him. “What’s going on? What’s happening?”

“My head!” Stefan groaned in pain.

Elena sat down on the ground and pulled Stefans head into her lap, trying to help him ease the pain all the while feeling the betrayal welling up in her chest.

“Thank you for derailing that deputy.” Elena looked up at Alaric as he came over to them.

“No problem.” Alaric said as he helped Stefan up and led them towards the stairs. “Vampires are going down all over town. The cops inject anyone who goes down with vervain.”

“Where’s Damon?” Elena asked worried about her friend.

“I don’t know.” Alaric tells her slowly. “He gave me instructions and then he rushed off.”

“I'm just glad that Jeremy brought Anna home to Pearl and Harper.” Elena sounded relived. “Hopefully that’s far enough out of town for the device not to reach.”

When the whole thing was over, Stefan rubbed his head. “It was like needles where piercing my skull and then it just stopped.”

“I saw at least five vampires go down.” Alaric told them. “They’re taking them to your family’s old building, Elena.”

“It’s the Gilbert device.” Stefan muttered. “It has to be.”

“How could Bonnie do this?” Elena looked both sad and betrayed.

“We asked her to deactivate a device that could protect people against vampires.” Stefan noted with a shrug.

“But not all vampires deserve to die.” Elena murmured feeling equally as pissed as she did sad.

“A vampire is a vampire to her.” Stefan rubbed Elenas back.

“You said they brought all vampires to my family’s old building, right?” Elena looked at Alaric and at his nod she continued. “Then Damon is probably there. Let’s go.”

Elena started to jog towards the building where the vampires were supposed to be when Stefan gasped when they got close.

“Wait, wait, wait, I can hear them.” Stefan looked wide eyed at Elena. “The building is on fire.”

“What?!” Elena called out in shock even as she sped up.

“The building is on fire.” Stefan repeated.

She saw John close to the building and ran up to him, “Where is Damon?”

“With the rest of them, where he should be.” John declared, almost sounding proud. “It’s over for Damon.”

“You’re crazy!” Elena sneered and it took everything in her not to punch him.

“Why? Because I'm doing what should have been done a hundred and forty five years ago?” John asked with a glare. “This is the right thing, Elena.”

Stefan looked at the building, wanting to go in there and save his brother.

“Go ahead, you won’t make it out.” John smirked at him. “It’ll save me the trouble of killing you myself.”

At that Elena had had enough and punched John in the face hard enough to break his nose, “You are a despicable person and Stefan and Damon are ten times the men you will ever be!”

“You know the building well, is there another way in?” Stefan asked Elena desperately.

“Utility door, there’s one around the side.” Elena informed him and goes to follow him when he goes towards the building but John caught her arm.

“You take one more step and I’ll alert those deputies that they missed a vampire.” John threatened her.

“You do that and I’ll never talk to you ever again and sure as hell won’t forgive you.” Elena glared at him.

“Why should that matter to me?” John asked with a raised eyebrow.

“As my father it should matter, but I guess your hate for vampires are more important.” Elena looked at him.

“You know.” John said.

“Obviously.” Elena sneered and walked away to where Stefan had disappeared.

“Stefan!” Elena called out as she saw Bonnie stand outside the burning building and tried to go in after Stefan.

“Elena, you can’t go in there!” Bonnie told her.

“My friends are in there Bonnie!” Elena glared at her.

“I’m sorry I lied to you.” Bonnie grabbed Elenas arm and started to recite a spell. “Ex spiritum intacullum, in terrum incendium, fes matos salvis adisdum!”

“Bonnie, I have to go in there so let go off me!” Elena tried to pry her arm free but Bonnies grip didn’t budge as she kept reciting the spell.

“Oh my god!” Elena finally managed to get lose as Stefan came out of the building with Damon.

“Elena.” Damon mumbled.

Elena fell to her knees beside Damon and Stefan and took out a pocket knife to cut her wrist and gave it to Damon. “Here, you need it.”

“You would trust him with that?” Bonnie asked shocked.

“Yes.” Elena answered without hesitation.

“I need to talk to you both.” Elena looked at Damon and Stefan as they made their way towards the cars a few minutes later. “Can I come over to the boarding house tomorrow?”

“Absolutely.” Damon nodded. “As I said the first time we met, you are always welcome.”

“Thank you.” Elena smiled and kissed first Damon and then Stefan on the cheek. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.

“Good night, Elena.” Damon and Stefan said at the same time and Stefan nudged his brother with a laugh.

Elena called Jeremy as she got out of the car at the Gilbert house three hours later, it had taken time to get home as it seems like someone had stolen some of her stuff. “I'm glad that you are all okay. Did the device affect Anna, Pearl or Harper at all?”

“Not even a little bit.” Jeremy told her softly. “I'm relieved that you managed to save Damon, I would miss the sarcastic dick head.”

“Are you staying with Anna tonight?” Elena asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, I think it’s too late to ask Anna to drive me home.” Jeremy said. “I already informed aunt Jenna.”

“Okay, that’s good.” Elena opened the front door slowly. “Will you come to the hospital tomorrow? To visit Caroline?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll even bring her favorite pastries.” Jeremy chuckled.

“I think she would like that.” Elena smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, little brother, love you lots.”

“Bye Lena and I love you too.” Jeremy sounded happy.

“Tell Pearl, Anna and Harper good night from me.” Elena chuckled as she hung up her phone and made her way to the kitchen.

**A/N: And there we have the conclusion of season 1!**

**On wards to season two which starts in the next chapter :)**

**The winner of the paring tally is Elijah with 56 votes to Klaus 52. So, the end paring will be Elena/Elijah but that doesn’t mean that Elena and Klaus won’t be friends. I was actually thinking about making Elena Hope’s mom but I haven't really decided yet :)**

**But if I do make Elena Hope’s mom, then Elena will basically take Hayley’s place in The Original series.**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	13. The Return of a Brave New World

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

Elena walked into the kitchen and saw John on the floor, bleeding badly. For just a second, she considered leaving him there but decided against it. She rushed over and pulled her outer shirt over her head to use to stop the blood flow, leaving her in her white tank top.

She quickly called 911 and puts it on speaker as she pushed her shirt against the stab wound in his stomach.

“911. What’s your emergency?” The female operator answered on the other end.

“Hi, I need an ambulance to 2104 Maple Street.” Elena said as calmly as possible. “My uncle has been stabbed and his fingers cut off.”

“An ambulance is on the way, Miss.” The operator told her. “Is the attacker still in the house?”

“I don’t know.” Elena said and tried to look around as she kept pressure on the wound.

“Behind you.” John whispered.

“What?” Elena looked at John who looked behind her in fear.

“Behind you.” John said again.

“Miss, is the attacker still in the house?” The operator asked a little more urgently.

“I think so.” Elena admitted.

“Miss, you need to get out of the house, okay?” The operator urged her.

“I can’t.” Elena denied. “I have managed to wrap uncle John’s hand tightly but if I let go of the pressure on the stab wound the chance of him bleeding out gets higher.”

“No!” John tried to shift but before he could do anything Elena saw a blur threw the corner of her eye and then she felt a burning pain on the back of her right shoulder blade.

“Ouch!” Elena called out and then she felt something run down her back.

“Miss!” The operator called out. “Are you alright, Miss?!”

“I'm fine.” Elena said even though she knew she was bleeding. ‘Why would Kathrine hurt her? She hadn’t in the show.’ Elena thought to herself.

A few seconds later the door is forced open and several police officers come in with their guns drawn. Two of them come over to Elena and John. “You are safe now.”

Everything went quickly after that, John was bundled into the ambulance and taken to the hospital, even as the paramedics did a quick fix on Elenas shoulder with instructions to get to the hospital as quickly as possible to get stitches.

When Stefan and Damon arrived, the officers tried to keep them from waling up to the house but Elena called out to them. “They are okay.”

“What happened?” Damon asked worriedly as the three of them walked into the house.

“I was talking to Jeremy on the phone when I came home, then I hung up and walked into the kitchen where I found uncle John.” Elena explained.

“What do you mean you talked to Jeremy on the phone when you come home?” Damon asked confused. “I was talking with you on the porch earlier.”

“Damon, I haven’t seen you since we split up at the town square.” Elena told him.

“But…” Damon looked adorably confused at first then the look in his eyes turned dark as he spat out, “Kathrine! I should have known.”

“What?” Stefan asked.

“I went over here earlier to thank Elena for saving my life.” Damon explained. “I talked to who I thought to be Elena for a while, but something felt off.”

“Felt off how?” Elena asked.

“She talked about how there might be good in me even though I know Elena doesn’t really care if I'm good or bad as long as I'm happy and her friends and family are safe.” Damon groaned. “But what really should have tipped me off that it wasn’t Elena was the kiss.”

“She kissed you?” Stefan gapped at him.

“Yes.” Damon mumbled awkwardly, then he turned to Elena. “Do you want some blood to heal the wound?”

“I would love to but I can’t.” Elena groaned.

“Why not?” Stefan looked at her.

“Because way too many people saw my wound and the paramedics said that they would leave an order or something at the hospital so I’ll get seen to as soon as I arrive.” Elena explained with a shrug, which made her wince.

“Okay, fine.” Damon looked worried but tried to hide it.

“Could you drive me to the hospital?” Elena asked hopefully.

“Yeah, come on.” Damon smiled at her.

“I’ll stay here and clean up the blood.” Stefan offered as Elena and Damon started to leave.

“Thank you, Stefan.” Elena smiled gratefully at him. “Can you call Jeremy to? Tell him about what has happened but make sure he stays at Anna’s tonight.”

“Sure, but you do know that he is very protective off you and might not listen?” Stefan smirked.

“So, tell Anna to tie him to the bed or something.” Elena laughed and left.

XOXOXOX

“Hey, Sheriff Liz.” Elena smiled softly as she and walked up to the front desk at the hospital were Liz stood. “How is Caroline?”

“She’s in surgery, it’s…they're doing everything they can.” Liz told them.

“Elena Gilbert?” A doctor called out.

“You stay here with Sheriff Liz.” Elena smiled at Damon and walked over to the doctor.

Getting stitches sucked, Elena decided as she sat on the bed. Why the fuck did they have to dig around with the fucking needle filled with local anesthesia? Elena gritted her teeth in pain and sat still as she let the doctor stich her up.

“Bonnie.” Elena walked over to Bonnie after the doctor was finally done. “How’s Caroline?

“She’s weak and they don’t know if she’s going to make it.” Bonnie sobbed.

“Is there a spell you can do or something?” Elena asked as she pulled Bonnie in to a hug. She was still slightly mad at her for the whole fake dispelling of the device but Elena figured that Bonnie had made up for it by helping save Damon.

“She doesn’t know how, do you?” Damon asked as he walked over to them.

“No, I don’t.” Bonnie admitted.

“No, you don’t because it took Emily years to learn a spell like that.” Damon hummed a tiny bit mockingly.

“Well, I can take down a vampire, that spell was easy to learn.” Bonnie glared at Damon.

“I can give Caroline some blood.” Damon offered, completely ignoring Bonnie.

“Do you promise to teach her if she dies with your blood in her?” Elena looked at Damon imploringly.

“I promise.” Damon looked at her seriously.

“Do it.” Bonnie said before Elena could and then she walked away without another glance at either Damon or Elena.

“How are you, really?” Damon asked quietly.

“My shoulder feels a bit tight but it doesn’t hurt.” Elena smiled softly at him.

“Elena, I came as soon as I got your message. How are you?” Jenna walked up to her niece and pulled her into a hug. Then she added as an afterthought, “How’s John?”

“I'm okay. Don’t know about John though.” Elena hugged back. “Where have you been?”

“At the fire department, I had to fill out a report.” Jenna looked at her weirdly. “I told you earlier.”

“No, you didn’t.” Elena denied.

“Yes, I did.” Jenna argued.

“No, you didn’t.” Damon sighed. “You told Kathrine.”

“Wait, Kathrine as in the one who turned you and Stefan, that Kathrine?” Jenna asked, wide eyed.

“Precisely.” Damon nodded.

“I know you all explained to me that she looked like Elena but that is just freaky.” Jenna shuddered.

“So, the bitch is back, back again, Kathrine’s back, tell a friend.” Elena started to hum and nod along to a beat only she could hear.

“Come on, let’s go see John.” Jenna laughed and led Elena away by the arm.

“Bye, bye, Day-Day.” Elena called back, feeling all floaty. “Aunty I think the pain medilations…medicalations…meds have started to kick in.”

“You don’t say.” Jenna laughed.

Two hours later Elena and Damon were back at home while Jenna stayed a while longer at the hospital.

“Stefan!” Elena bounced her way into the Gilbert house. “Why are you on the floor?”

“Are you okay?” Stefan looked at her curiously.

“Oh, yeah, they gave me the good stuff.” Elena smiled dopily. “I am high as a kite.”

“There was a bit of a mix up at the hospital and Elena got stronger pain medication than she actually needed.” Damon explained with a small smile, then he frowned. “What happened?”

“Kathrine happened.” Stefan sighed.

“What did she want?” Elena asked as she slowly spun around. “More of my clothes?”

“She didn’t say.” Stefan shrugged.

“Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance.” Damon shook his head.

“She said she fooled one of us, at least.” Stefan smirked. “Not knowing we actually talk to each other and figured her out earlier.”

“She’s an idiot.” Elena giggled and fell.

“Let’s get you to bed.” Damon, who caught her, chuckled.

“My knight in shining fangs.” Elena gushed and giggled.

“You are very giggly when your high.” Stefan laughed as he followed his brother when he carried Elena to her room.

“Why did she hurt me?” Elena mumbled as Damon put her down on her bed. “That was very mean.”

“I don’t know Elena.” Damon stroke her hair.

“She’s been invited in.” Stefan pointed out. “What are we going to do about that?”

“I would say move but…” Damon shrugged.

“Yeah, we can move to Hawaii!” Elena giggled tiredly. “I've always wanned to go there.”

“I promise to take you one day.” Damon smiled as Elena fell asleep.

XOXOXOX

The next morning Elena woke up with a groan, her shoulder aching but at least she wasn’t high anymore.

“You okay, Lena?” Jeremy came in to her room from the bathroom when he heard her groan.

“I'm fine, my shoulder is just a little achy.” Elena smiled as she sat up.

“I'm so happy that you are okay.” Jeremy walked over and pulled Elena into a tight hug. “And next time, know that you can leave uncle John to die to save yourself.”

“Noted.” Elena laughed. “Damon promised me a sip of his blood today to heal my shoulder.”

“You coming with me and Jenna to the mayors wake, memorial, thing later?” Jeremy asked as he pulled back.

“Yeah, I'm driving. I'm just going to the hospital with Stefan to talk to uncle John, who is technically my sperm donor, and find out what he knows about Kathrine.” Elena shrugged. “And on the point of Kathrine who looks freakily like me, if I don’t snap my fingers twice when we meet up, just assume it’s not me.”

“Sounds good in the short run but what about later?” Jeremy hummed saving the whole ‘Uncle John is Elenas biological father’ thing for later.

“I'm trying to come up with something permanent.” Elena assured. “Can you tell Jenna about the finger snap thing?”

“Sure.” Jeremy chuckled as he watched his sister try and pick out some clothes for the day.

“Can I wear this today?” Elena asked him a she held up a knee length white lace dress with an open back.

“Absolutely.” Jeremy smiled at her. “Maybe you could wear the high heeled shoes Lexi sent you, the white ones where the heel looks like a butterfly’s wings?”

“That would work.” Elena beamed. “Thanks Jere.”

Around an hour later Elena and Stefan was walking towards John’s hospital room.

“Ready for this?” Stefan looked at her.

“Yup.” Elena smirked and walked into the room.

John panicked when he opened his eyes to see Elena and tried to press the little red button that would call the nurse, but Stefan grabbed his hand and took it away from him.

“I’m not Kathrine.” Elena groaned. She would have been flattered if he had actually been scared of her, Elena, but nooo, Kathrine had to be the one, didn’t she? Bitch!

“We know Kathrine did this to you.” Stefan told John.

“We need to know why.” Elena continued.

“Where is she?” John looked around.

“You tell us.” Elena said with a raised eyebrow.

“You're too weak to play tough guy.” Stefan pressed John back into the bed when he tried to get up. “Why don’t you just sit back and answer some questions?”

“You won’t hurt me; you value human life too much.” John said as he looked at Stefan. “You're the good brother.”

“Few months ago, that would have been true, but you see, Elena have been helping me with accepting myself for what I am and see humans as food.” Stefan explained a little mockingly. “Plus, you tried to kill my brother. So, tell me again that I wouldn’t hurt you.”

“Now, what does Kathrine want?” Elena asked placing the Gilbert ring into Joh’s hand.

“She’ll try again; we can’t help you if you don’t confide in us.” Stefan added when John didn’t make a sound.

“In you?” John looked at Stefan in disgust.

“In your daughter then.” Stefan consented.

“My daughter should have driven a stake through your heart by now.” John glared and then he turned to Elena. “I never spoke with Kathrine directly, she never trusted me.”

“If you wanted me to have certain views on certain things you should have raised me yourself.” Elena sneered.

“So, either kill me or get out because I can’t stand the sight of you with my daughter.” John kept glaring at Stefan and ignored what Elena said.

“You are such a fucking hypocrite.” Elena growled and stormed out.

Elena walked towards her car when Stefan caught up to her. “I just need to pick up Jenna and Jeremy at home so we can go to the Lockwoods’”

“I’ll meet you there.” Stefan smiled and hugged Elena.

“Hey Stefan?” Elena called out as Stefan started to walk away. “Did you have fun threatening John?”

“Absolutely.” Stefan smirked at her and got into his car.

Elena was just about to get into her car when her phone rang, “Hello?”

“Elena? Where are you?” Bonnie asked from the other end.

“Bonnie, I know that I'm late, but I got a bit caught up at the hospital.” Elena explained. “I'm about to get in the car now.”

“If you are at the hospital, then I just met your evil twin.” Bonnie muttered.

“Why can’t I be the evil twin?” Elena groaned.

“Is that what you focus on?” Bonnie chuckled.

“Yep.” Elena laughed. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, tops. But be careful Bonnie.”

“I’ll do my best.” Bonnie said as she hung up.

When Elena, Jeremy and Jenna finally made it to the Lockwoods’, the place was crawling with people.

“Looks like the whole town has turned out.” Jeremy commented.

“Yeah, well, he was the mayor.” Elena shrugged. “And even though he was an ass, most people won’t say no to free alcohol and free food.”

“Elena!” Jenna tried to sound reprimanding but the smile that twitched on her lips and the twinkle in her eyes ruined it.

“Why don’t they save it for the funeral?” Jeremy chuckled at his sister.

“That’s just what people do.” Jenna shrugged. “The Lockwoods were there for us when we went through this. It’ll be quick; we’ll drop off the food and pay our respects and then we leave.”

“In and out?” Jeremy hummed. “Sounds like a plan.”

“You guys go on; I’ll be right there.” Elena told Jenna and Jeremy as she walked over to Damon. “Hey, Damon, are you okay?”

“Great Elena.” Damon smirked but something was missing. “Walking on sunshine, thanks for asking.”

“Damon, please.” Elena murmured softly.

“I kissed you and I was so happy when you kissed back but turns out it wasn’t you at all but my bitch of a sire.” Damon ranted. “How do you think I'm doing?”

“I think you are hurting.” Elena admitted.

“I don’t get hurt.” Damon denied.

“Everyone gets hurt, even you.” Elena looked at him sadly. “You just cover it up with anger and a devil might care attitude.”

“You're scared that Kathrine might send me off the deep end, aren’t you?” Damon asked as he turned to leave. “I don’t need her for that.”

“You have not gone off the deep end, Damon, and you won’t.” Elena said with certainty. “You are stronger than you think.”

“Why is it such a surprise that I would kiss you?” Damon looked at her, searching her face for something.

“Because people don’t want me, Damon.” Elena shrugged, sounding very certain of that. “I'm a weird, blunt freak.”

“Elena…” Damon began sadly but was interrupted by Bonnie.

“Elena!” Bonnie called out.

“Bonnie what's wrong?” Elena asked worried.

“I just saw Stefan leave with Kathrine.” Bonnie gasped out.

“Shit.” Damon cursed and rushed out.

“Thanks for telling us.” Elena hugged Bonnie and rushed after Damon.

A while later Elena was sitting on a bench on the Lockwood property, cleaning a wound on Stefan lower abdomen.

“You gonna be okay?” Elena asked softly.

“Yeah, it’ll heal.” Stefan reassured her.

“That’s not what I meant, numb nut.” Elena slapped him on the arm.

“I was trying to figure her out, you know.” Stefan explained. “I was playing along and let her get to me.”

“I tried to track her but she’s gone.” Damon said as he walked up to them, then he started to tease his baby brother. “Oooh, cover up, Fabio.”

“Why? You jealous?” Stefan teased back with a smirk.

“Of that?” Damon nodded at Stefans well defined torso, then he pulled up his own shirt. “Nah, mines better.”

“Let’s ask Elena.” Stefan laughed and both Damon and Stefan stood up and showed off their abs to Elena. “So, who’s are better?”

Elena pretended to think about it for a while then she smirked at them both and said, “Mine.”

“You can’t just say that and walk away.” Damon and Stefan ran after her when they shook themselves out of the shock.

“This is me, walking away.” Elena chuckled.

“I want proof.” Damon smirked.

“If I were wearing pants, I’d show you but I ain't dropping my dress out here.” Elena stopped and turned towards the brothers.

“So, you would drop it if we were somewhere else?” Stefan chuckled.

Elena just kept walking with a smirk. When they started to get closer to the Lockwood mansion Elena quietly asked. “Can you two come over to my place later tonight? There is something I need to talk to you both about.”

“Are you okay?” Damon asked.

“I'm fine but I don’t want to talk about it where others can over hear.” Elena explained.

“We’ll be there.” Stefan said as Damon nodded.

“Thank you.” Elena kissed them both on the cheek and went to join Jenna and Jeremy.

XOXOXOX

A couple of hours later Elena walked out of her bathroom in her pajamas, booty shorts and a tight top, only to jump when she’s startled by Damon sitting on the bed.

“Holy shit on a pogo stick!” Elena cursed with a chuckle. “You scared the bejesus out of me.”

“Sorry.” Damon said quietly. “I'm only doing my part in the neighborhood watch.”

“Thank you for looking out for my family.” Elena said sincerely.

“Well, I'm the brother who is calm in a crisis.” Damon mumbled.

“Have you been drinking?” Elena laughed as she walked over to her dresser to put on some fluffy socks.

Damon held up his thumb and forefinger a small distance apart, indicating that he had been drinking a little.

“And you didn’t bring any with you so we could keep drinking?” Elena mock huffed. “Rude.”

“And you're surprised that I would kiss you.” Damon muttered to himself in disbelief.

“Damon…” Elena looked at him.

“You see yourself as unlovable because someone has hurt you and forced all these thoughts about being weird and a freak into your head.” Damon got up from the bed and walked towards her. “And it’s like you can’t see the way Stefan looks at you or even how I look at you, like you are the most important thing in the universe.”

“What?” Elena exclaimed quietly, really not understanding what he was talking about.

Damon grabbed her face gently in his hands and kissed her softly with intense passion. Elena’s eyes widened in surprise and she froze, then she pulled back while placing her hands against his chest.

“I can’t.” Elena mumbled. “I'm sorry but I don’t see you like that.”

“I hope you know that I won’t stop trying to make you see me like that.” Damon murmured to her. “You are the most amazing woman I have ever met.”

“Damon…” Elena sighed and was about to continue when Jeremy cleared his throat from the door.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Jeremy smirked, showing he was clearly not sorry. “But Stefan is here.”

“Sorry I'm late.” Stefan said as he walked in, sending an apologetic look at his older brother.

“That’s okay.” Elena smiled.

“I'm going to play some COD with Anna.” Jeremy informed them. “Have fun you three.”

“Say hello to Anna from me.” Elena called after him as she closed her bedroom door.

“What was it you wanted to talk to us about?” Stefan asked when Elena turned back towards them.

“A few weeks ago, I started to have weird dreams of a dark being walking besides me. It wasn’t evil or anything like that, It was actually protecting me from something.” Elena explained as she started to pace. “Then I started to feel like I was being watched, followed by seeing the same dark being in the corner off my eye. It’s presence, as I've told you both, feel powerful and old.”

“This is the same thing you said stroked your face?” Damon asked, trying to clarify if it was the same being or not.

“Exactly.” Elena nodded. “But then on the morning of the Founders’ Day parade I noticed this.” Elena pulled down her top to show the two tattoos in the valley between her breasts.

“Are those…tattoos?” Stefan asked as he and Damon walked closer to see better.

“I guess.” Elena hummed. “Except they just appeared overnight.”

“They look likes ancient Nordic runes.” Damon hummed in thought.

“ _YR_ for _Death_ , _End,_ and _War_.” Stefan mused quietly. “And _ALGIZ_ for _Life_ , _Beginning_ and _Protection._ ”

“And you know this…how?” Damon looked at his younger brother.

“I looked up different runes after Elena gave me my armband.” Stefan would have blushed if he could.

“You are such a nerd.” Damon said fondly as he ruffled Stefans hair.

But Elena wasn’t paying any attention to them, instead she started at the corner of her room, completely frozen. The dark being was standing there, just looking at her. Before the being flickered and vanished, Elena thought she saw It nod at her.

Elena was knocked out of her shock by her phone ringing. “Hello?”

“Elena?” Caroline sounded shook up and scared.

“Caroline, what's wrong?” Elena was on high alert in seconds.

“I think Kathrine killed me.” Caroline murmured.

“Are you okay?” Elena asked softly.

“She looks so much like you.” Caroline mumbled a bit dazed.

“Caroline, can you tell me what happened?” Elena coxed her best friend.

“Yesterday someone who I thought was you came to visit but she said her name was Kathrine and that I was supposed to give a message to the Salvatore brothers and then she smothered me with a pillow.” Caroline sobbed quietly. “And then I woke up and I'm so very hungry.”

“I'm sending both Stefan and Damon to you, okay?” Elena looked at the brothers and they nodded back and left.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Caroline sniffled.

“I know and even if you accidentally do hurt someone, we’ll fix it.” Elena tried to reassure her. “What was the message, by the way?”

“She just said to tell them ‘Game on’.” Caroline sounded confused.

“Hey Elena.” Stefan’s voice sounded over the phone. “Me and Damon are here now and we’ll take care of Caroline, okay?”

“Thank you both and tell Caroline that I love her.” Elena told him and hung up.

If Kathrine was in town that meant that there soon would be werewolves and originals and a sacrifice in which she herself had center stage. Should she try and save Trevor and Rose or just let it play out as it did in the tv show? Well, this was going to be fun, note the sarcasm.

XOXOXOX

A few days later Elena and Bonnie are helping prepare for the Mystic Falls High School Carnival. Elena hadn’t seen Damon or Caroline in that time but she talked to Caroline at least once a day.

“Kathrine looked just like you.” Bonnie murmured. “It was freakish.”

“Why do you think I went to the hairdresser and asked them to put in blood red highlight in my hair?” Elena asked, gesturing to her hair. The blood red highlights almost glowed as the sun hit Elenas hair, making it looked like she had actual blood in her hair.

“I understand that.” Bonnie nodded. “And it looks really good.”

“Thank you.” Elena smiled. “By the way, I moved the student booth into the cafeteria.”

“How do you know she's not out there pretending to be you?” Bonnie asked slowly.

“Oh, that’s easy.” Elena shrugged. “I don’t. What I do know is that those ‘in the know’, so to speak, know to ask me a personal question if they get uncertain if I'm me or not.”

“I can’t believe Kathrine actually killed Caroline to send a message.” Bonnie looked sad at the thought.

“If Damon hadn’t given her his blood earlier, she would have been gone.” Elena felt her heart squeeze at the prospect of losing her best friend.

“How you talked to her since she turned?” Bonnie asked softly.

“Yeah, I talk to her every day. She’s doing good, Damon has been teaching her control.” Elena smiled. “On that point, did you make the daylight ring for her?”

Bonnie looked through her bag and pulled out a ring, “Here, I hope she likes it.”

“She will love it.” Elena reassured as she took the ring from Bonnie. “I'm going to find my brother to see if he set up the goldfish thing, see ya later Bon.”

“See you later.” Bonnie smiled.

Elena found Jeremy at his locker talking to Stefan.

“Jere-Bear.” Elena bounced over and hugged her brother.

“Sister-mine.” Jeremy hugged back.

“How sure are you that I am me?” Elena asked with a smirk.

“100%” Jeremy chuckled. “I don’t think that Kathrine would bounce over and call me Jere-Bear while hugging me and I'm certain she wouldn’t ask if I was sure if you were you.”

“You might me right about that.” Elena giggled.

“What am I?” Stefan looked mock offended at being ignored. “Chopped liver?”

“I'm sorry.” Elena looked down, then she bounced over to Stefan and hugged him with a squealed, “Steffy!”

“Elena!” Stefan hugged back with equal enthusiasm.

“Jere, did you…” Elena started to ask as she pulled back from Stefan.

“Yup, I set up the gold fish toss with all three hundred gold fish.” Jeremy patted Elenas head with a smirk. “It’s going to be epic!”

“Of course, it is.” Elena laughed even as she tried to dodge Jeremys’ hand. “You did it.”

“You two are the weirdest people I have ever met.” Stefan told them with a laugh.

“Thank you!” Jeremy and Elena chorused as they bowed to him.

“Anyway, Damon said that he would bring Caroline to the carnival to test her control.” Elena beamed as she sort of bounced in place. “I have missed my bubbly blond bombshell of a best friend.”

“She has missed you to.” Stefan smiled at her. “But she didn’t want risk hurting you.”

“She is so sweet.” Elena gushed. “But tell her I wouldn’t blame her or be mad at her if she accidentally hurt me.”

“Elena.” Jeremy groaned.

“What?” Elena looked at him.

“While you might care if you get hurt, I do and I would bet that others do too, like Stefan, Damon, Jenna…”

“Okey, okey, I get it.” Elena mumbled. “It’s just…rather me than my friends and family, you know?”

“If you're not going to value your own life, we’ll do it for you.” Stefan declared.

Elena just looked at them sadly, not understanding why they would care so much, no one else ever had. When she was Alex, people only liked her for what she could do for them and when her usefulness was gone, they dropped her like yesterday’s trash.

“Here.” Elena said after a while, holding out Carolines new ring towards Stefan, trying to change the subject. “Bonnie made a daylight ring for Caroline.”

“Thank you.” Stefan said as he put the ring in his pocket. “I should get this to Caroline as soon as possible, but I’ll see you both at the carnival this evening.”

“Absolutely.” Elena smiled as Stefan walked away.

“Hey Elena, could we talk?” Jeremy asked hesitantly after Stefan was out of sight.

“Of course.” Elena looked at him with big earnest eyes. “You know you can talk to me about anything.”

“How about lunch at the grill and the we can talk while we eat?” Jeremy asked hopefully.

“Oh, yes, I want a smokey BBQ hamburger with onion rings and Coca-Cola.” Elena almost drooled as she pulled her little brother after her.

“I absolutely love that you never eat salads or healthy food, it’s just pizza, hamburgers and steak when it comes to you.” Jeremy laughed as he followed Elena.

“Why would I force myself to live on rabbit’s food? I'm a carnivore and anyway; YOLO.” Elena chuckled, then she stopped and frowned. “Unless you are a vampire, then I guess it becomes YOLT.”

“YOLT?” Jeremy asked as they started to walk again.

“You Only Live Twice.” Elena smirked.

The car ride was spent singing along to the radio and in Elenas case, who wasn’t driving, dancing in her seat.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Elena asked as her and Jeremy sat in a booth at the grill waiting for the food.

“Me and Anna.” Jeremy admitted after a few seconds.

“Okey.” Elena nodded and then thanked the waitress for their sodas. “What about you two?”

“Well, you know how we are dating and hanging out and stuff?” Jeremy mumbled awkwardly.

“Yeah…” Elena said slowly. “Jeremy what is bothering you?”

“I really, really like Anna.” Jeremy looked at Elena. “But…”

“Here is your food, enjoy.” They were interrupted by the waitress arriving with their food.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled, then when the waitress was gone, she turned back to Jeremy. “But…?

“I think I only like her as best friend.” Jeremy mumbled as he picked up a fry.

“Why do you think it’s only like a best friend?” Elena asked kindly.

“I don’t feel any sparks when we touch, no butterflies in my stomach when we are going to meet and that sort of stuff.” Jeremy groaned. “But I like playing video games with her and watching movies. I don’t know what I should do, Lena.”

“Talk to her.” Elena told him gently.

“That easy, huh?” Jeremy looked at her sadly.

“Trust me, she will appreciate it way more if you talk to her and explain how you feel than if you try to pretend to be something you're not.” Elena smiled softly.

“But what if she hates me afterwards?” Jeremy asked, worried.

“She might be sad and hurt but I don’t think she’ll hate you.” Elena reassured him. “But if she does then she wasn’t worth your friendship anyway.”

“Thank you, Lena.” Jeremy looked at her with love. “You are an amazing sister and I love you.”

“I love you to, little brother, and I always will.” Elena smiled brightly at him.

XOXOXOX

The carnival was underway when Elena heard a squealed “Elena!” before she was pulled into a hug by Caroline.

“Oh my God, Caroline!” Elena laughed as she hugged Caroline back. “I'm so happy you're back. I have missed you so, so much.”

“I have missed you too!” Caroline pulled back with a bright smile.

“Thank you so much Damon.” Elena walked over to Damon who was standing a few paces behind Caroline and hugged him.

“Don’t mention it.” Damon hugged back, subtly breathing in her scent.

“I never get any love.” Stefan pouted with laughter in his eyes.

“Poor, poor Steffy.” Elena walked over and patted him on the head, then she linked her arm with Carolines. “Come on, let’s go and find Jeremy.”

Together the four of them wandered around looking for one Mr. Jeremy Gilbert, all the while laughing and having fun.

“Bonnie is off with this guy, Carter I think, and fixing the karaoke speaker.” Elena told Caroline. “And he was definitely flirting with her.”

“Go Bonnie!” Caroline giggled.

“Caroline!” Jeremy walked up to them holding a bag of popcorn.

“Hey Jeremy.” Caroline smiled.

“Hold this.” Jeremy shoved the popcorn bag into Stefans hands so he could pull Caroline into a hug. “I'm so glad that you are okay.”

“Thank you.” Caroline looked a little shocked at the hug but happily hugged back.

“I’ve missed my blond sister.” Jeremy murmured.

“I’ve missed you to, little brother.” Caroline smiled brightly enough to light up the evening with tears of happiness in her eyes.

After a while the group arrived at the arm-wrestling booth to see Tyler being challenged by several times and winning them all.

“He’s got strength.” Damon hummed as they kept watching.

“He’s a triple letter varsity athlete, of course he has strength.” Stefan chuckled.

“I bet I can beat you.” Mason arrived with a smirk.

“You go Tyler!” Elena called out as Tyler and Mason arm-wrestled.

“What are you doing?” Jeremy asked with a chuckle.

“Cheering on a class mate.” Elena smiled.

“You do know he wants to get into your pants, right?” Caroline hummed as she looked between Elena and Tyler.

“What?!” Jeremy started to glare at Tyler.

“No, he doesn’t.” Elena laughed.

“I heard him talking to Matt about it once.” Caroline informed them. “He told Matt that he'd like to, and I'm quoting here, ‘Make Elena scream in pleasure as I pound her against a wall’.”

“I'm going to break his face.” Jeremy growled darkly with Damon and Stefan nodding along.

“It could just be some male macho bullshit though.” Caroline shrugged.

“Okay, he’s the champ.” Tyler stepped back from the table. “Who wants to go next?”

“Stefan wants to try.” Damon called out with a smirk aimed at Stefan.

“I’ll get you back for this.” Stefan hissed at Damon as he walked towards Mason and the table.

“Get him Stef!” Damon encouraged.

“You can do it Stefan!” Elena and Caroline cheered.

“Ten on my uncle.” Tyler smirked as he came over to them.

“Stefan’s going to win.” Caroline smirked and took the bet.

Elena wanted to stop her but what was she supposed to say, ‘Don’t take the bet, Mason is a werewolf’? That would go over well.

As Mason beat Stefan Caroline huffed and gave Tyler the money. Tyler smirked as he accepted.

“Nice doing busines with you.” Tyler chuckled and walked back over to his uncle.

“Did you put in any effort at all?” Damon asked Stefan as he came over.

“I did, actually.” Stefan looked a little weirded out.

“Is he…?” Damon asked as they walked away.

“No, it wasn’t that sort of strength but it was definitely not human.” Stefan told them.

“That family is not completely human but what are they?” Damon murmured in thought.

“Maybe they’re ninja turtles.” Stefan chuckled.

“Zombies.” Jeremy piped up.

“Wendigos.” Elena giggled.

“Elves.” Caroline joined in.

“Werewolves.” Elena, Caroline, Jeremy and Stefan chorused.

“Seriously you four?” Damon asked with a laugh. Then he got a thoughtful smirk on his face and walked over to one of the workers of the carnival. “Hey you!”

“I have a name, it’s Mark.” The man sneered. If Elena remembered correctly it was supposed to be Carter but he seemed to still be somewhere with Bonnie.

“Yeah, I don’t care.” Damon grabbed him by the shoulders and compelled him. “You're going to pick a fight with a kid named Tyler Lockwood.”

“Well, that’s one way to do it.” Jeremy chuckled.

“I knew I liked you for a reason, baby Gilbert.” Damon smirked, then he turned back to the man. “Get him mad, don’t back down no matter what he does, okay?”

“I won’t back down.” The man repeated.

“Good man, off you go.” Damon patted him on the back as the man left.

“You three have fun with that.” Caroline smiled at the guys. “But me and Elena need to gossip for a while.”

“See ya later, ma dudes.” Elena called out as Caroline led her away by the arm.

“I'm going to break up with Matt.” Caroline blurted out when they had walked for a while.

“Okay.” Elena squeezed Carolines arm in comfort.

“And I think I might decide not to date for a while, you know?” Caroline mumbled.

“Caroline, as long as you're happy I’ll support you and be happy for you.” Elena informed her seriously.

“And if I decided to go on a killing spree?” Caroline asked.

“Then I would ask if you wanted company or help getting rid of the bodies.” Elena vowed to her best friend.

“I adore you.” Caroline beamed at Elena.

The walked around the carnival, looking at everything but not participating in the games.

Caroline froze suddenly and started sniffing the air, her eyes turning dark blood red with veins under them. She finally focused on the man Damon had compelled earlier who is whipping his bloody nose.

“I'm sorry.” Caroline told him after she sped over to him.

“What?” The man asked confused then he gasped in pain as Caroline rushed behind him and tore into his neck.

“Caroline?” Elena walked up to her as she called her name gently.

“Oh shit!” Caroline exclaimed as she came back to herself and started to cry. “I was supposed to have more control than this! But I forgot to eat before we left for the carnival, I was just so excited.”

“It will be okay, Care.” Elena walked closer to pull Caroline into a hug but Caroline quickly backed away.

“I don’t want to hurt you!” Caroline said horrified.

“You won’t.” Elena declared with absolute certainty and managed to pull a sniffling Caroline into a hug, just as Damon, Stefan and Jeremy arrived.

“Are you alright, Caroline.” Stefan asked gently.

“I didn’t mean to kill him.” Caroline wept softly.

“Hey, it’s okay, we are not mad or judging you.” Stefan murmured as he looked Caroline in the eyes. “We all slip up. And some of us, like Damon, kill just because they can, and we still don’t judge or get mad at him, okay?”

“Okay.” Caroline nodded, feeling a bit better.

“You look pretty bad ass right now.” Jeremy smirked as he looked at the blood around Carolines face and on her clothes.

“You are so weird.” Caroline gave a wet laugh.

“But I made you laugh.” Jeremy smiled proudly.

“Stefan, why don’t you and Jeremy take Caroline home and I’ll help Damon deal with the body.” Elena offered.

“Sounds like a plan.” Stefan smiled and left with Caroline and Jeremy.

“So… Where are we dumping the body?” Elena asked Damon after a few minutes.

“We’ll just bury it in the woods, I guess.” Damon shrugged.

“Okay, so we’ll dig a deep hole and put the body in and then cover the body with around two feet of soil and dirt and then you’ll just have to kill a deer or something and we’ll put that in the hole and cover the grave completely.” Elena thought out loud. “That way if someone is looking around with cadaver dogs they’ll just think the dog marked the grave for the deer and ignore it.”

“You are an evil and diabolical young woman.” Damon laughed.

“Oh my god.” Both Damon and Elena turned to see Bonnie standing there, looking horrified at the dead body.

“Bonnie…” Elena started but was ignored as Bonnie turned towards Damon.

“I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt.” Bonnie glared at Damon hatefully.

“I didn’t do this.” Damon told her while glaring back.

“Bonnie, it wasn’t him.” Elena said loudly.

“Everything that has happened is his fault, Elena.” Bonnie declared and started a fire that was making its way towards Damon.

“Bonnie, stop it!” Elena cried out as Damon caught fire. “Just stop it!”

Bonnie didn’t react at all, just kept glaring at Damon. Elena jumped over the fire and grabbed Bonnie by the shoulders, making her concentration break.

“Why did you stop me?” Bonnie half glared at Elena.

“Because you have no right, what so ever, to decide who should be punished and for what crime.” Elena glared right back.

“He kills people!” Bonnie shouted as she gestured towards Damon.

“You can’t keep judging him as if he was human!” Elena shouted back. “There are different rules when it comes to the supernatural world!”

“But…” Bonnie started to argue.

“No, you know what, I'm done.” Elena sighed tiredly. “You need to get your head out of your ass and realize you don’t know everything and you are definitely not always right!”

Bonnie glared and stormed off with a glare and Elena sighed with a shake of her head.

“You okay?” Elena turned and helped Damon up from the ground.

“Yeah, I'm already healed.” Damon said quietly. “Thank you for defending me.”

“Anytime.” Elena smiled softly. “That’s what friends are for.”

A few hours later Elena was finally done with everything and was about to crawl into her bed when she saw the dark ancient being standing by her bed.

“Who are you?” Elena asked softly.

The being smiled at her and said in a quiet voice that was so old and powerful that Elena could feel it in her bones. “All in dude time, my dear.”

Then he was gone in the blink of an eye and Elena was left alone in her room with her thoughts.

**A/N: Season 2 has now begun!**

**I hoped you liked the way I handled the whole thing with Caroline being turned into a vampire :)**

**Now I'm having a problem with who I should pair Damon with and I would appreciate your input, the choices are:**

**Damon/Jeremy**

**Damon/Rose**

**or**

**Damon/Enzo**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	14. Bad Memory Moon

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

Elena walked into the boarding house while dancing as she hummed _Howl_ by _Florence + the Machine_ quietly to herself. She was wearing black cargo pants, long sleeved, off the shoulder, crop top and combat boots.

“You seem to be in a good mood.” Damon laughed from where he was standing by the drink table.

“Caroline is back at her place with her mom none the wiser about her daughter being a vampire.” Elena smiled brightly. “I just drover really fast on my bike here, shh don’t tell my aunt, and I had chocolate muffins for breakfast, this day is awesome!”

“So, what you're telling me is that you're hyper.” Damon chuckled.

“Basically, yeah.” Elena laughed. “Oh, I also called Alaric and asked him to come here, he should be here soon.”

“We might finally solve the Lockwood family mystery.” Stefan sarcastically said from the entrance to the room.

“Want some?” Damon offered Elena a glass of bourbon.

“Sure.” Elena bounded over.

“You do know she's underage, right?” Stefan asked as he saw Elena take a sip from her glass.

“Yeah, so?” Damon smirked.

“Just asking to make sure.” Stefan smiled at his brother.

At that point Alaric walked into the parlor looking rough around the edges.

“Does no one knock or ring the doorbell anymore?” Damon asked as he looked at everyone.

“Not really, no.” Elena giggled.

“Thought so.” Damon smirked and turned towards Alaric. “Thanks for coming, Ric. Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee, bourbon? Coffee in your bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?”

“Elena mentioned that you needed my help.” Alaric ignored Damons offer of anything to drink.

“Yeah, we were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family.” Stefan chimed in from his place by the fireplace.

“Now why would I know anything about the Lockwood’s?” Alaric looked confused.

“Well, _you_ wouldn’t.” Damon smirked. “But your dead, not-dead vampire wife might.”

“Isobel’s research from when you both were at Duke together.” Elena piped in.

“Are you drinking bourbon?” Alaric looked at Elena.

“Nope.” Elena denied and took another sip.

“Are you lying to me?” Alaric asked.

Elena smirked, she could finally channel her inner Stiles and use one of her favorite quotes from Teen Wolf. “That depends on how you define ‘lying’.”

“I define it as not telling the truth.” Alaric declared. “How do you define it?”

“Reclining your body in a horizontal position.” Elena beamed at him.

Damon snorted just as he took a drink from his glass, resulting in him spitting bourbon at Stefan who was standing in front of him.

“You said that Isobel had spent years researching this town.” Stefan said as he used his shirt to dry the bourbon from his face.

“Isobel’s research here in Mystic Falls rooted in folklores and legends but at the time I thought much of it was fiction.” Alaric told them.

“Like that amazing vampire story.” Damon said, still chuckling slightly.

“Aside from vampires, what else?” Elena sked eagerly.

“The Lycanthrope.” Alaric hummed.

“Ha! I knew it!” Elena jumped up from her seat and did a little happy dance. “I knew werewolves were real.”

“No way, impossible, _way_ to Lon Chaney.” Damon denied with a shake of his head.

“Really Damon?” Elena looked at him in disbelief. “You yourself are a vampire and so’s your brother and Bonnie is a witch but you draw the line at werewolves?”

“I’ve been on this planet some one hundred and sixty odd years.” Damon began.

“Old fart.” Elena coughed.

“I have never come across a werewolf.” Damon continued with a mock glare towards Elena who just smiled innocently. “If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?”

“Why do you suspect the Lockwoods?” Alaric wondered.

“Because vervain didn’t affect the mayor at Founder’s Day but the Gilbert device did.” Damon told him. “And it affected his son, Tyler, too.”

“And at the school carnival his uncle Mason exhibited inhuman strength when he beat me at arm-wrestling and later when he fought with one of the carnival’s workers.” Stefan explained. “It suggests something supernatural, we just don’t know what.”

“We were hoping that Isobel’s research could help us figure out what they are.” Elena said thoughtfully as she tried to sneakily steal Damons glass of bourbon.

“Well, all her things are still at Duke.” Alaric informed them. “I mean her office is still there because she is technically still considered missing.”

“Ric, we need to know what we are dealing with.” Damon looked at him seriously. “If this wolfman thing is true, well, I've seen enough movies to know it’s not good.”

“Aren’t vampires and werewolves’ bitter enemies or something like that?” Elena asked softly.

“Yeah or so the legend goes.” Damon said. “And if Mason Lockwood is a real-life Lon Chaney and that little Tyler punk is Lon Chaney junior that would mean that Bella Lugosi, aka me, is totally screwed.”

“You look so much better than Bella Lugosi though.” Elena smiled.

“So, let’s go to Duke and check out Isobel’s research.” Alaric shrugged.

“Yes!” Elena cheered. “Road Trip!”

“I’ll drive.” Damon declared quickly.

“I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the Lockwoods and I did promise Caroline lunch.” Stefan smiled at them.

“Can I invite Jeremy?” Elena looked between Damon and Alaric.

“That’s fine by me.” Damon shrugged. “I actually like baby Gilbert.”

“As long as it’s fine with your aunt.” Alaric said.

“Yay.” Elena laughed and made her way out of the boarding house. “I’ll go home and pack and talk to Jeremy, pick me up in around an hour.”

XOXOXOX

An hour and a half later Damon were driving them towards Duke with Alaric in the passenger seat and Jeremy and Elena in the back.

“You two okay back there?” Damon asked.

“Yeah we’re fine.” Jeremy smiled.

“Absolutely,” Elena hummed. “Can we stop at Black Knight Studio before we go home?”

“Sure, but what is that?” Damon looked at Elena threw the review mirror.

“It’s a tattoo parlor.” Elena smiled. “I want to get a tattoo on my inner right wrist.”

“And I want one on my chest.” Jeremy told them. “Jenna already agreed.”

“We’ll stop there on our way home then.” Alaric decided.

“Shouldn’t the one driving decide that?” Damon mock pouted.

“Nope.” The other three in the car chorused.

“You have been out voted.” Jeremy laughed.

“I can’t believe John actually gave you his Gilbert ring.” Elena said after a while. “But I'm also happy that he did.”

“This ring technically belonged to dad.” Jeremy murmured softly. “So, it was mine from the start but John took it.”

“We all knew he was a bastard.” Damon muttered.

“You mean is?” Jeremy asked. “I mean, he’s still alive.”

“Technically, yes.” Damon nodded. “But I like living in my fantasy world where he is dead and being tormented for the rest of eternity.”

“I like your version of reality.” Jeremy chuckled and Elena nodded in agreement.

“You guys really don’t like him, huh?” Alaric asked with a laugh.

“Nope.” Elena popped the p when she answered. “Let’s do a recap, shall we? He knew I was adopted because he is my biological dad, he was never around when I was a kid, he took dads ring which belonged to Jeremy, he tried to kill my friends and he is a hypocritical ass because while preaching to me about how ‘vampire bad, must kill vampire’ he was working with my biological mother who is a VAMPIRE!”

“You feeling better?” Jeremy asked Elena after she stopped her mini rant.

“Yes actually, I do feel better.” Elena smiled.

“Good, because we’re here.” Damon said as he turned the car into Duke University’s parking lot.

The group of four made their way to the right office as with Alaric leading the way, “So, Isobel was officially employed by the anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomenon is rooted in folklore.”

“Do you have to have a degree in anthropology if you want to become an archaeologist?” Elena wondered out loud.

“No idea.” Jeremy shrugged.

“Excuse me?” Alaric said to the woman behind the desk at the office. “Hi, my name is Alaric Saltzman, I called earlier.”

“Yes, of course.” The woman smiled even as she looked strangely at Elena. “I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant, comparative folklore. Let me just grab Isobel’s keys.”

“These are my friends Damon, Elena and Jeremy.” Alaric introduced them as Vanessa led them towards Isobel’s office.

“Isobel was one of my first professors, I'm a grad student.” Vanessa told them as she led them to Isobel’s office. “She was brilliant and one of the reasons I went into folklore. I have to ask – has there been any news?”

“No, I'm afraid not.” Alaric told her.

“It’s this way.” Vanessa said as she opened Isobel’s office door and led them inside. “I’ll grab the light, feel free to look around. It’s fascinating, isn’t it?”

Elena and Jeremy walked around the room to look around after Vanessa left.

“I wonder if Gods are real or if it’s primordial beings or something out there.” Elena hummed as she thought about the dark being that kept showing Itself to her.

“Where’d she go?” Damon asked after a while.

As if she heard him Vanessa came back into the office holding a crossbow. She aimed and fired at Elena but Damon rushed over and put himself in front of Elena to protect her. Damon fell to the floor with a grunt as the arrow hit him in the back.

Elena fell to her knees to support Damon as Alaric restrained Vanessa and Jeremy stood protectively in front of his sister and Damon.

“Can you help me up?” Damon asked, not wanting to be more vulnerable then he had to.

“Sure.” Elena said and gestured for Jeremy to help her. Together they got Damon up and leaning against a bookcase.

“I can’t reach it Elena.” Damon grunted in pain. “Just pull the damn thing out. It hurts!”

“Deep breath and I’ll do it on three, okay?” Elena asked as she grabbed the arrow.

“Do it!” Damon growled.

“One…” Elena yanked the arrow out.

“What happened to ‘two’ and ‘three’?” Damon asked as he straightened up and shook himself with a grimace.

“Two, three.” Elena smirked.

“Funny.” Damon chuckled as he looked at Elena, then he turned and glared at Vanessa. “That bitch is dead.”

“You're not going to kill her.” Elena said with certainty.

“Watch me!” Damon snarled and Vanessa looked frightened.

“You are not going to kill her, Damon.” Elena placed a hand on Damons arm, while Vanessa looked relived until Elena continued with a dark smile aimed at her. “Because I am.”

“Together?” Damon asked with a smirk.

“Drag it out?” Elena hummed.

“Can I help?” Jeremy asked.

“None of you are killing her!” Alaric interrupted the three of them.

“Why the fuck not?!” Elena glared at him. “She tried to shoot me! With a crossbow!”

“Please! I freaked out okay?” Vanessa blubbered. “You would have done the same thing!”

“Well, she’s not wrong.” Elena hummed with a shrug as she looked at Alaric. “You did try and kill Damon.”

“It’s not possible!” Vanessa sniveled from where she was sitting. “Kathrine Pierce can’t be alive and Damon Salvatore died in 1864, okay? I read Isobel’s research.”

“I'm Elena Gilbert, Isobel’s biological daughter and, sadly, a descendant of Kathrine Pierce.” Elena growled. “And this is Damon Salvatore who you just shot and you're right, he's dead, just the Undead kind of dead.”

“I would be extra nice to us right now.” Damon smirked with his vampire face on complete display making Vanessa whimper in fear.

“Oh, and that was my sister you tried to shoot.” Jeremy glared. “I have no problem with helping them to get rid of you.”

“Now, if you would show us all of Isobel’s research relating to Mystic Falls we might, oh I don’t know, forget about this little incident?” Elena hummed.

“Absolutely, I’ll do anything.” Vanessa nodded quickly.

Around fifteen minutes later Vanessa brought a box into the room and placed it in front of Elena. “This box checks Kathrine’s arrival to Mystic Falls in April 1864.”

“Is that all there is about her?” Elena asked as she opened the box.

“All that I'm aware of.” Vanessa told her. When she sees the vervain in the box she whispered to Elena, “Does vervain really work?”

“Nope, not at all.” Damon said from across the room.

“Can he hear us?” Vanessa whispered again.

“No, that would be creepy.” Damon mock whispered.

“Can he read minds to?” Vanessa sounded both freaked out and intrigued.

“You know, if you wanted to see me naked,” Damon turned towards Vanessa and Elena with a smirk. “All you had to do was ask.”

Elena and Jeremy burst out laughing and Elena had to support herself against the desk to not fall.

“Any luck?” Damon asked when they had been looking through the information for a while.

“There’s nothing here about Kathrine that we didn’t already know.” Elena sighed.

“Ah, man, you know, it’s a real bummer that we don’t know someone who was there when Kathrine was in Mystic Falls in 1864.” Damon hummed with a smirk. “Oh, wait…”

“You're right, we should definitely call Stefan.” Elena teased back.

“Ouch.” Damon grabbed his chest in mock pain.

“Hey guys, check this out.” Alaric called out from where he was standing beside Vanessa.

“There’s no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls, but here are some records of some of the lesser-known legends. Everything from Scandinavian skin-walkers to the Maréchal de Retz.” Vanessa held out a book with Aztec drawings. “Tonartsliitsii Metslii, which roughly translates into…”

“The Curse of the Sun and the Moon.” Elena interrupted. “It’s Aztec.”

“She's right. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia.” Vanessa lectured. “The short story; 600 years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting neigh impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves’ servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, whoever is unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf.”

“Can they control the transformation?” Damon wanted to know.

“If it were a choice, it wouldn’t be called a curse.” Vanessa sneered at him. “Werewolves will attack humans but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice; vampires.”

“See I told you that vampires and werewolves were enemies.” Elena said as she threw her hands up.

“If werewolves were hunting vampires, I would know about it.” Damon declared with certainty.

“Not if there aren’t that many werewolves left alive.” Vanessa looked through the book in her hand. “Hundreds of years ago, vampires hunted them close to extinction.”

“War and survival of the fittest.” Elena nodded like it made perfect sense.

“Why would they do that?” Alaric asked.

“To protect themselves.” Vanessa turned towards Alaric. “Legend has it that a werewolf’s bite is fatal to a vampire.”

“Oh…” Damon said slowly as Elena, Jeremy and Alaric looked at him in concern.

“Hey, have you done any research on doppelgängers?” Elena asked a few minutes later as she found a picture of Kathrine.

“Well, the word means a lot of different things to different cultures,” Vanessa said. “But typically, a doppelgänger is a living, breathing double of oneself.”

“Hello my shadow self.” Elena murmured quietly, remembering the end of season four of the tv show.

“What?” Damon asked.

“Nothing.” Elena shook her head and looked up at Damon with a small smile.

“Usually doppelgängers torment the people they look like, trying to undo their lives.” Vanessa cautioned. “It’s not exactly uplifting.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Elena shrugged. “I just want to know why we look alike.”

“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” Damon hummed.

“Are doppelgängers considered supernatural beings?” Jeremy piped up from where he was observing everything, still on high alert incase Vanessa attacked his sister again.

“That is a very good question.” Elena admitted.

“I don’t know.” Vanessa shook her head.

An hour later Elena and Jeremy were by the car, waiting for Damon and Alaric.

“Look what I found.” Damon strutted up to the Gilbert siblings, holding out a book towards Elena.

“’Petrova’” Elena read the title out loud. “I saw this on a shelf.”

“Kathrine originally came from Europe. Petrova was her real name.” Damon explained. “Katerina Petrova, to be exact.”

“How do you know this?” Elena looked up at him.

“Back in 1864 I saw it engraved on an old heirloom.” Damon shrugged. “Men snoop too, you know.”

“He's not wrong about that.” Jeremy admitted with a quiet chuckle.

“Let me know what you find?” Damon asked. “I'm very curious.”

“Absolutely.” Elena smiled at him. “Thank you for the book.”

XOXOXOX

The foursome walked into the Gilbert house to the sound of ‘Eye of the Tiger’ playing while Jenna danced around in the living room.

“Nice moves, aunt Jenna.” Elena smiled at her aunt when the song was over.

“Elena!” Jenna jumped in shock, not having notice the foursome arrive. “You’re back!”

“Nope, you're just imagining things.” Elena laughed.

“Show me, show me, show me!” Jenna bounced over.

Elena held her right arm forwards, showing of the five butterflies, they started on her pointer finger and moved up wards to her middle finger, then on her hand up to her wrist. Elena then turned her arm over to show the symbol on her inner wrist.

“I like the butterflies.” Jenna hummed. “But what is that symbol?”

“Tatama,” Elena smiled. “It basically means ‘Order out of Chaos’.”

“Fits your life to a t.” Jenna laughed and turned to Jeremy. “Show me!”

Jeremy laughed and pulled off his shirt, showing off the tribal dragon done in Viking style on the left side of his chest.

“That looks so cool!” Jenna gasped as she looked at Jeremy’s tattoo.

“Damon and Alaric got tattoos too.” Jeremy smirked.

Jenna turned expectantly towards the two men.

Alaric smiled with a sigh and pulled up his shirt, showing of his left forearm. The tattoo depicted an old pocket watch, with an arrow almost looking like it went through it and the words ‘ _The Trouble Is, You Think You Have Time_ ’.

“That’s beautiful but also masculine.” Jenna admired the tattoo before she turned towards Damon.

Damon pulled his shirt off with a laugh and turned around. On his right shoulder blade there was a raven in flight and partly hidden in the ravens back was a human skull.

“That is epic.” Jenna said slowly, “And fitting.”

“I'm happy with mine.” Elena smiled and shrugged. “But I sort of want one along my spine now.”

“I want to get one to but I haven’t had the time.” Jenna hummed.

“Why don’t you go this weekend?” Elena offered. “Me and Jeremy will be fine.”

“Yeah and take Alaric with you.” Jeremy smirked. “You two deserves to get some couples time.”

“That works for me.” Alaric smiled at Jenna.

“Okay.” Jenna agreed, then she frowned. “Shouldn’t the tattoos be redder and still be healing?”

“We have Damon to thank for that, actually.” Elena smiled and kissed Damon on the cheek. “He offered us his blood to heal the ‘wounds’ so to speak.”

“You offered yours in return to heal mine.” Damon smiled at her, then he turned towards Jenna. “I’ll give you some blood when you have done your tattoo.”

“Thank you, Damon.” Jenna smiled gratefully.

“You're welcome.” Damon nodded at her.

“Who wants pizza?” Jeremy asked as he pulled out his phone.

Elena’s stomach gave a loud growl and she smirked. “Apparently I do.”

XOXOXOX

Elena was sitting at a table alone at the grill a few days later, drinking milkshake and reading The Hobbit, when Damon suddenly sat down beside her.

“So, this is what you do when you're not plotting murder, torture and world domination.” Damon smirked.

“Yup.” Elena smiled and then she offered him her glass, “Milkshake?”

“Thanks.” Damon took a slow sip. “You going to help me test Mason Lockwood at Jenna’s barbecue later?”

“Do I get to stab him?” Elena asked with big excited eyes.

“Possibly.” Damon laughed. “I love that you are a tiny bit psychotic and like to stab people.”

“Why thank you.” Elena smirked.

“Did you see Jenna's new tattoo?” Damon asked after a while.

“Yeah and I think it fits her.” Elena smiled as she put a marker in the book and put it in her bag.

“Oh?” Damon hummed.

“Orchids mean love, luxury, beauty and strength.” Elena told him.

“That is really fitting for her.” Damon agreed.

“Here’s your pie, sir.” A waitress come up to Damon and gave him a box.

“Perfect, thank you.” Damon smiled at the waitress who nodded and left. “I'm hoping everyone likes peach cobbler.”

“Well, Jeremy will be your eternally loyal servant if you give it to him and it’s Jenna's guilty pleasure.” Elena laughed and got up along with Damon.

“How about you?” Damon asked as they walked out of the grill.

“I can eat it when someone offers but I wouldn’t buy it for myself.” Elena shrugged.

“What’s your favorite desert then?” Damon looked at her.

“Gooey chocolate cake.” Elena sighed dreamily.

“Good to know.” Damon laughed.

A few hours later Elena is in the Gilbert kitchen talking to Jenna. “Thanks for letting me invite Caroline, she could really use a day of distraction.”

“Anytime, Elena.” Jenna smiled. “Caroline is like another niece, she's family.”

“So, we are all in agreement, you, me and Jeremy, that Caroline is an honorary Gilbert?” Elena chuckled. “I'm a little sad though, that Jeremy decided to spend the evening with Anna.”

“Absolutely.” Jenna agreed. “But I also heard that Damon is coming.”

“Yup, he’s bringing pie.” Elena nodded.

“Elena, I don’t think he's here for the food.” Jenna smiled at her niece.

“Why else would he be here?” Elena looked confused.

“Oh, you are so oblivious it’s almost not funny.” Jenna giggled.

“What are you talking about?” Elena asked but before Jenna could answer Mason arrived.

“Good news!” Mason said. “I found the shot glasses!”

“No Elena you are not taking shots in this house!” Jenna mock glared at her.

“Poodoo.” Elena pouted as she closed her mouth.

“You're here for 10 minutes and I'm already back under the bleachers at the pep rally.” Jenna giggled.

“Like old times, huh?” Mason laughed. “Only difference is that I didn’t swipe this bottle from my old man.”

“Wait…” Elena said as she looked between her aunt and Mason. “You two?”

“Well…not really.” Jenna stuttered slightly.

“Why not, aunt Jenna?” Elena laughed. “He has a great ass.”

“Elena!” Alaric sounded scandalized as he walked in.

“What?!” Elena smirked. “He does!”

“But not as great as mine, right?” Damon asked as he walked in.

“I don’t know, Mason’s ass looks very nice.” Elena hummed thoughtfully.

“I'm just going to take Jenna out to the back yard and get her to start breathing again.” Alaric started to lead a laughing Jenna out of the kitchen. “Hopefully.”

“Was it something I said?” Elena looked between Damon and Mason innocently.

“You are a very different young woman.” Mason chuckled.

“Thank you.” Elena beamed as she took Jenna's shot glass and downed it.

“I thought your aunt said you weren’t doing shots in this house?” Mason looked at her with a smirk.

“What she doesn’t know can’t get me in trouble.” Elena laughed. “And if she finds out I’ll know it was you who told her.”

“And how do you know Damon won’t be the one to tell her?” Mason raised an eyebrow.

“Because Damon hasn’t said anything before and he won’t say anything now.” Elena kissed Damon on the cheek as she left the kitchen.

Elena walked out on the porch and sat down on the steps.

“God!” Caroline came over and sat down beside her. “I cannot stop eating. Stefan says it’s a great way to sublimate the cravings, but it’s horrible fighting the urge for blood every minute of every day. Damon said it will get easier with time, but still.”

“Would some of mine help?” Elena offered.

“Yeah, thank you Elena.” Caroline looked so relived.

“No problem.” Elena smiled and gave Caroline her left wrist.

Caroline bit down as gently as possible and drank slowly and carefully. She pulled back with a grateful smile as she licked her lips clean. “Thank you so, so, much.”

“Anytime.” Elena said and wrapped her scarf around her wrist. “It was decided earlier today that you are an honorary Gilbert so that makes you family.”

“I need to tell you something.” Caroline murmured softly.

“You can tell me anything, you know that.” Elena smiled gently.

“Kathrine visited me and told me to keep you away from Stefan and to spy on you.” Caroline admitted quietly.

“So, she’s still obsessed with Stefan, then?” Elena hummed.

“I'm sorry.” Caroline looked at Elena sadly.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Elena smiled softly at her best friend/sister. “I know that you wouldn’t tell her anything of importance.”

Caroline pulled Elena into a tight hug just as Alaric opened the door. “Foods ready.”

“Finally, I'm starving.” Caroline said and got up as Elena giggled.

After dinner they were playing Pictionary, with Damon only drawing wolf related things making Elena having to leave before she peed herself laughing.

“Jenna is getting tipsy.” Damon smirked as he joined her.

“Could be because you're plying her with alcohol.” Elena laughed as she put the pie on a big plate.

“Could be.” Damon chuckled and shrugged.

“How’s operation Lockwood?” Elena asked smiling.

“He’s my new BFF.” Damon said with a dramatic flair.

“There you two are.” Jenna said as she came into the kitchen. “Isn't this fun?”

“Yes, thank you so much for inviting me.” Damon smiled at Jenna.

“You're welcome.” Jenna hummed then she whispered, or at least tried to whisper, to Damon as she nodded towards Elena. “How is it going?”

“It’s a work in progress.” Damon looked slightly embarrassed.

“I'm rooting for you.” Jenna patted Damon on the cheek and turned around to grab the pie from Elena.

“Use this aunt Jenna.” Elena held out a cake knife from the old the old silver set.

“These are fancy.” Damon picked up a knife to look closer at it.

“Thanks.” Jenna smiled. “My mother’s silver set.”

Elena laughed quietly as Damon discreetly put the silver knife in his jacket and then the three of them walked back into the living room.

“Mason, why don’t you start us off?” Damon gestured to the pie and the silver knife.

Mason bends forward and takes a piece of pie with his hands, avoiding the knife. “I apologize, I'm an animal.”

“Wonder if he has fleece?” Elena muttered so only Damon and Caroline could hear her making them chuckled quietly.

“So Mason, you and Jenna never dated?” Alaric asked.

“She was always lost in Logan Fell land.” Mason smirked at Jenna.

“Wait, wait, wait, you choose Logan Scum Fell over that?!” Elena looked at Jenna as she gestured to Mason.

Elena had decided that if Kathrine could pretend to be her, she could pretend to be Kathrine. And if she had to flirt with Mason Lockwood to get the information they needed to find out what Kathrine was up to, she would flirt with the mutt. There is very little she wouldn’t do to protect her family and friends. Or maybe she could turn him to their side…

“I was young and dumb, I'm sorry!” Jenna laughed. “Anyway, Mason always had girls lining up.”

“Really?” Damon hummed. “I always pegged you for a lone wolf.”

“I'm sure I wasn’t half the lady killer you were.” Mason smirked at Damon.

“Men, woman, a dwarf in drag once…” Elena chuckled.

“Oh, I didn’t know you liked men, Damon?” Jenna asked intrigued with mischief in her eyes.

“I appreciate beauty in all its forms.” Damon smirked, knowing that Jenna actually knew that Elena meant that he didn’t discriminate in who he killed.

“How about a toast?” Mason asked, holding up his glass. “To new friends!”

“To new Friends!” The others chorused.

A while later Elena and Damon were in the kitchen doing the dishes when Mason walked in.

“Jenna just brought out ‘Guitar Hero’.” Mason chuckled. “Might be time to mutiny.”

“Why did Jeremy have to be at Anna’s place tonight?” Elena groaned. “He could have beat you all at ‘Guitar Hero’ without even trying.”

“I like ‘Guitar Hero’.” Damon admitted. “So, you, my friend, are barking up the wrong tree.”

“Okay, enough with the innuendos.” Mason groaned. “You win, you are hilarious.”

“Thank you.” Damon smirked. “And I know.”

“Come on man. You don’t think I know what this barbeque is about?” Mason looked at Damon with a raised eyebrow.

“How do you know about me?” Damon demanded to know. “Your brother was completely clueless.”

“It doesn’t matter; I'm not your enemy, Damon.” Mason said.

“You tried to kill my brother.” Damon glared.

“That was a mistake.” Mason admitted.

“Really?” The disbelief in Damons was pretty obvious.

“There was confusion; I couldn’t chain myself up in time.” Mason intoned seriously. “I have no control once I shift.”

“Wait, does this mean I don’t get to stab him?” Elena asked from where she had snuck up beside Mason with a silver knife in her hand. Then she sagged in disappointment and pouted. “Aww man, this sucks.”

“You were going to stab me?!” Mason asked looking wide eyed at Elena.

“Well, you did almost kill one of my best friends,” Elena hummed with a shrug. “So, I thought it only fair that I get to stab you.”

“Let’s not spark some age-old feud that doesn’t apply to us.” Mason pleaded with Damon even as he inched away from Elena in worry.

“You expect me to believe that you are in Mystic Falls planting peach trees?” Damon sneered.

“I lost my brother; my nephew lost his father. I'm here for my family.” Mason told him and held out his hand. “Let’s be above this.”

“Sure.” Damon smiled coldly as he shook Mason’s hand. “But the moment you do something that proves dangerous towards Elena, Stefan or anyone we care about, you're dead.”

“Are we friends now?” Elena asked happily as she sent a smirk at Mason. “I've always wanted a puppy.”

“Funny.” Mason actually laughed along with Damon and Elena.

“Oh, I have a lot of dog/werewolf and vampire jokes in my arsenal.” Elena giggled as the three of them joined the others in the living room.

“Oh, tell me a vampire joke then.” Mason told her with a chuckle.

“What do you get if you cross a snowman with a vampire?” Elena asked brightly.

“No idea.” Mason said and the others nodded in agreement.

“Frostbite.” Elena smirked.

“That was so, so bad.” Jenna giggled.

“That’s what makes it so funny.” Elena wiggled her eyebrows.

“Do a werewolf joke next.” Caroline demanded as she giggled.

“What do you call a werewolf with no legs?” Elena looked around the room and when no one answered she continued. “Whatever you like, he can’s chase you either way.”

“That was dark.” Alaric said as they all laughed.

“Okay how about this; Did you hear about the comedian who entertained at a werewolf’s party?” Elena hummed with a giggle. “He had them howling all night!”

About an hour later Mason shrugged on his jacket, “No takers for drinks at the grill?”

“I would love to but I don’t think the cops or my aunt would be happy.” Elena chuckled. “But me Caroline and Damon are going to the grill to, we’re just going to pick up Stefan first.”

“Well, the moment you turn eighteen the first drink is on me.” Mason smiled, then he turned towards Jenna and Alaric. “Thanks for having me, it was awesome. Alaric, catch that game next week?”

“Yeah, I look forward to it.” Alaric nodded.

“I might join you for drinks at the bar if I get bored with Stefan and his friends.” Damon shrugged.

“We can find out who can hold their liquor better, werewolves or vampires.” Mason laughed as he walked out of the Gilbert house.

XOXOXOX

“I’ll go get Stefan!” Elena called out as she jumped out of the car when they arrived at the boarding house.

“Stefan? Come on you slow poke, we’re going for burgers at the grill!” Elena said loudly as she walked into the parlor.

“You must be Elena.” Elena jumped around to see Kathrine standing there.

“Nope, I'm just some _other_ woman who looks just like you.” Elena said sarcastically.

“Hmm.” Kathrine smirked and vamp-sped away as Stefan entered the room.

“Elena?” Stefan looked down on her right arm and relaxed when he saw the tattoo.

“You look rough.” Elena stated calmly.

“I wonder why.” Stefan muttered.

“Go change!” Elena ordered. “We are going to the grill.”

“But…” Stefan started to say.

“No buts, except maybe mine.” Elena tried to look over her shoulder at her own ass, then she focused back on Stefan. “You can tell us all about your day with Kathrine on the way.”

“Us?” Stefan asked.

“Damon, Caroline and me.” Elena walked over to him and started to herd him towards the stairs. “Now, chop, chop, the burgers won’t eat themselves.”

“Didn’t you just come from a BBQ?” Stefan asked as he made his way up the stairs.

“That is not the point!” Elena called after him.

When they finally made it to the grill, Stefan was such a slow poke, Elena was almost salivating for a burger and a milkshake.

“Stefan is paying.” Elena declared as she sat down at a table.

“Why am I paying?” Stefan asked as he and the others sat down with Elena.

“Because you are slower than a sloth when you pick out clothes.” Elena mock glared at him.

“She’s right.” Caroline smirked. “You're worse than any woman.”

“I'm not that bad!” Stefan denied.

“Yes, you are!” Elena and Caroline chorused.

“They’ve got you there, little brother.” Damon laughed.

“I hate you all.” Stefan pouted adorable.

“We love you too!” Elena, Damon and Caroline smiled at him.

“How about movie night and a sleep over at my place after the burgers?” Elena offered.

“Sounds good to me.” Caroline nodded with a smile.

“As long as there’s no Disney.” Stefan said with a look at Elena.

“How about Final Destination?” Damon offered. “I've wanted to watch the franchise but haven’t really had the time.”

“Jeremy has the first three if that’s acceptable for everyone.” Elena hummed and Stefan and Caroline quickly.

Later that night, after they had all laughed at the different deaths in Final Destination 1 and 2, Elena fell asleep against Damons shoulder in the middle of Final Destination 3. She was happy with how the day turned out and hoped that she had managed to save Mason, which in turn would save Rose from his pack, she hoped.

As she fell asleep, she heard the ancient and powerful voice whisper in her mind. “ _You are a special one, my dear._ ”

**A/N: A chapter, yay!**

**I have decided to keep Mason alive for now but that might change later ;)**

**Last chapter I asked who you wanted to pair Damon with and gave you three options. Well, it seems like it got a lot more traction than I thought it would, so here are the new voting tally paring thing:**

**Damon/Jeremy: 4**

**Damon/Rose: 7**

**Damon/Enzo: 7**

**Damon/Enzo/Jeremy: 1**

**Damon/Kol: 3**

**Damon/Rebekah: 1**

**Jeremy/Tyler: 2**

**Jeremy/Kol: 4**

**Jeremy/Rebekah: 1**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	15. Kill the Plan to B Killed

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

Elena danced around her bedroom to Hollaback Girl as she got dressed for the day. Today she had chosen to wear red skinny jeans, sneakers and a tank top with one of Jeremy’s flannel shirts over it. She danced her way into the bathroom where Jeremy was brushing his teeth.

“Having fun?” Jeremy asked after he rinsed his mouth.

“Of course.” Elena beamed at him.

“I can’t believe Tyler is a werewolf.” Jeremy hummed.

“We’re not sure about that yet. The only thing we know for certain is that Mason is one.” Elena told him and then she smirked deviously. “And since when is he ‘Tyler’?”

“Well, we've been hanging out.” Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck.

“Mhmm.” Elena kept smirking.

“Oh, shut up.” Jeremy pushed her gently.

“How'd it go with Anna?” Elena asked gently as they walked into the kitchen fifteen minutes later.

“You were right, she appreciated me telling her the truth instead of lying or pretending.” Jeremy said slowly. “But she was also very sad and even though she said we could still be friends, she decided to travel with her mom and Harper for a while.”

“And how do you feel?” Elena looked at him. “And what about her mother’s store?”

“I feel really bad about making her so sad but at the same time it feels like I'm lighter and it’s easier to breath, you know?” Jeremy tried his best to explain. “And Pearl is going to travel so she can buy the stuff she needs, I guess. But they did reassure me that we could call them if we needed help.”

“I know what you mean.” Elena reassured him. “I love you, little brother.”

“I love you too, sister dear.” Jeremy hugged her.

“Let’s go to the Volunteer Day thing.” Elena said as she pulled back. “You're driving.”

When they arrived at the public park Carol Lockwood was holding a speech, which they only caught the end of, “…everyone who has shown up today to lend a helping hand. Thanks.”

“Hey Mason, Stefan.” Elena dragged Jeremy over to the two men.

“Hello Elena.” Mason smiled.

“Elena, Jeremy.” Stefan nodded at them.

“Mason, this is my little brother Jeremy, Jeremy this our new puppy Mason.” Elena smirked.

“Kinky.” Jeremy laughed. “Does he beg prettily?”

“I don’t know yet.” Elena shrugged with a giggle at the blush on Mason’s face.

“Why are you blushing?” Damon walked up to them.

“Elena and Jeremy are making innuendoes, sort of.” Stefan chuckled as he explained.

“Have anyone seen Tyler?” Jeremy asked as he looked around.

“He went to the grill earlier.” Mason told him.

“I’ll go there then.” Jeremy smiled and kissed Elena on the cheek. “See ya later, alligator.”

“In a while, crocodile.” Elena called after him. Then she turned back to the men around her. “One of you are going to have to drive me home later, Jeremy took the car.”

“Sure.” Damon, Stefan and Mason chorused.

“You three are so sweet.” Elena smiled at them. “I'm going to go talk to my blond sister, see ya later ma dudes.”

“Elena.” Caroline smiled as Elena just walked up to her and hugged her.

“Care-Bare.” Elena beamed back. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good.” Caroline pulled back and together they started to walk towards where people were painting a veranda. “I broke up with Matt and I feel good about being single for a while.”

“As long as you're happy, I'm happy for you.” Elena smiled. “But there is something that’s making sad and/or annoyed, so spill.”

“Is it that obvious?” Caroline asked and when Elena just tilted her head to the side with a raised eyebrow she continued. “It’s my mom. You know how she hasn’t really been around a lot in the past but now that I'm actively trying to avoid her, she's suddenly in the running for Mother of the Year.”

“If she starts asking to many questions just tell her you're thinking about experimenting with girls or something.” Elena offered with a smirk and a shrug. “That might make her feel uncomfortable enough to back off.”

“You are a genius.” Caroline laughed. “And if that doesn’t work, I’ll just make out with you in front of her or something.”

“Sound like fun.” Elena smirked. “I love scandalizing people and making them uncomfortable when they have to witness PDA.”

“So, what’s going on with you?” Caroline asked as they picked up a can of paint and brushes to help paint the veranda.

“Well, I want to go on a killing spree, I feel like have forgotten something important and I have a doppelgänger that is trying to destroy my life.” Elena shrugged. “You know, the usual.”

“Elena, Caroline, could you both help me with this?” Carol Lockwood gestured towards a couple of boxes filled with empty paint cans.

“Absolutely, Mrs. Lockwood.” Caroline smiled and dragged Elena over to her.

“Can you carry these to the truck over there?” Carol pointed to a truck on the other side of the park.

“We’ll get it done.” Elena nodded and picked up one off the boxes while Caroline took the other.

On the way back they see Liz leaving the park while she's on the phone.

“Is she leaving?” Caroline asked, shocked. “Where is my mom going?”

“How should I know?” Elena muttered but Caroline ignored her and walked up to Liz.

“What’s wrong?” Caroline looked at her mom.

“Nothing.” Liz said quickly. “I just have something…”

“You mean work?” Caroline sighed sadly. “You surprised me, you actually lasted longer than five minutes.”

“It’s important.” Liz tried to explain herself.

“It always is.” Caroline murmured.

“I'm sorry.” Liz turned to leave with tears in her eyes.

Caroline just stared sadly after her mom as Elena did her best to be there as silent support.

“Elena!” Mason came running up to them around ten minutes later.

“Mason?” Elena looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Someone, I assume Kathrine, put vervain in the lemonade and the sheriff saw Damon drink it.” Mason explained quickly. “I tried to get both Damon and Stefan out of here but Liz found us and she thought I was helping the council and her deputes shot them both with wooden bullets and then they took them away.”

“Do you know where they're going?” Elena asked desperately. ‘So, this was what she was forgetting about,’ she thought, feeling angry with herself.

“The old Lockwood estate ruins, I think.” Mason told her.

“Okay, me and Caroline will go rescue them, do you want to help?” Elena looked at him.

“Yeah, I think me and Damon are actually becoming friends.” Mason smiled slightly and the three of them ran towards the old Lockwood estate.

When they arrived at the ruins, Caroline froze with a quiet gasp.

“What is it?” Elena asked softly.

“My mom.” Caroline sniffled. “She’s killing them.”

“You stay here Caroline so your mother doesn’t find out about you.” Elena smiled reassuringly at her and then she ran into the ruins.

Elena rushed in and when a depute went to check out the noise she made, she hit him with an iron pipe, not caring if he got a broken bone or not.

“Elena?!” Liz asked as she pointed her gun at her. “What are you doing?”

“Saving my friends!” Elena glared and walked forward.

The depute she had hit with the iron pipe grabbed her from behind, restraining her arms so she couldn’t interfere.

“Let go of me!” Elena snarled as she did her best to get loos.

Suddenly the door closed by itself and Liz turned towards Elena. “Who else is with you?”

Elena didn’t answer, instead she leaned her head back and bit into the deputy’s neck as hard as she could. When she felt the blood fill her mouth, she wrenched her head away, effectively ripping the man’s throat out.

The man screamed in pain and let go of Elena who in turn grabbed him and forced him down besides Damon. Damon used what little strength he had to latch on to the deputy’s neck and started to drink.

“You okay Stefan?” Damon asked after he had drained the man.

“Not really, but I'm healing.” Stefan murmured quietly from where he was being supported by Mason.

“You want the other one?” Damon looked at Stefan as he pointed at the last deputy.

“No thanks.” Stefan tried to give a reassuring smile but it came out more as a grimace. “I’ll be fine.”

“More for me.” Damon said to lighten the mood and quickly drained the man.

“I gotta admit that seeing you literally rip someones throat out with your teeth was kinda epic.” Mason chuckled as he looked at Elena.

“Fucker wouldn’t let go off me.” Elena smirked, blood covering her mouth, chin and down her neck. “And well, spending time with vampires seems to have rubbed off on me.”

“This is a most unfortunate situation.” Damon hummed as he carelessly dropped the dead body to the floor and turned to Liz. “Two deputies dead and you. What am I going to do with you?”

“You won’t tell anyone, will you? Mom?” Caroline looked desperately at her mother. “Mom? Please? Look, I know we don’t get along and that you hate me but I'm your daughter and you’ll do this for me, right?”

“And if I don’t?” Liz asked defiantly.

“I like you Sheriff Liz, despite you caring more about your job than Caroline.” Elena walked over to Liz. “But the moment you become a threat to those I care about? Well, you saw what happened to your deputy. The only reason that I haven’t already killed you for shooting my friends and planning on killing them is that you are Caroline’s mother and she loves you.”

“I can’t take this.” Liz looked at Damon. “Kill me now.”

“But you were going to drag in out so painfully.” Damon bent down to look Liz in the eys.

“No, please Damon, don’t kill her!” Caroline pleaded.

“Calm down, blondie, no one is killing anybody.” Damon looked seriously at Liz. “You're my friend.”

“So… how are we cleaning this up?” Mason asked as he looked around at the dead bodies.

XOXOXOX

A few hours later Elena opened the door for Caroline as she brought a suitcase of her mom’s things.

“I didn’t know how much mom would need or how long she would be staying.” Caroline murmured as she walked in.

“Damon said it would take around three days for the vervain to leave her system.” Elena explained kindly.

“Hey Caroline, how are you feeling?” Stefan came up to them.

“I'm good.” Caroline said bit it didn’t sound very convincing. “I see you got some bunny in you.”

“Deer actually.” Stefan chuckled.

“Oh dear.” Elena smirked and started to walk towards the basement.

“You’re not as funny as you think you are.” Stefan told her.

“Shows what you know.” Elena giggled.

Elena, Stefan and Caroline stopped outside the cell that Liz is in and listened in to what Liz and Damon were saying.

“Can you keep Caroline far away from me please?” Liz said. “I don’t wanna see her.”

“She’s your daughter Liz.” Damon reminded her.

“Not anymore she's not. My daughter is gone.” Liz sounded sad but certain.

“You have no idea how wrong you are about that.” Damon informed her and left.

“Whoa!” Damon caught a pissed off Elena around the waist before she could rush into the cell and hurt the sheriff. “Calm down, spitfire.”

“She doesn’t know what she's talking about and she hurt Caroline.” Elena growled but stopped trying to get away from Damon.

“I'm going to let you go now, okay?” Damon looked at her.

“I'm fine, Damon.” Elena smiled slightly at him. “I won’t try and hurt Liz.”

“Good.” Damon let her go and walked up the stairs.

Elena was about to follow when she caught a glimpse of Stefan. She walked over to the room and saw Stefan standing in front of a fridge filled with blood bags, holding a bag in his hand and looking at it in contemplation.

“Stefan, you okay?” Elena asked softly.

“Kathrine took a little vervain every day and built up a tolerance to it.” Stefan explained lowly. “I could do the same with blood, I could learn to control myself on it.”

“If that is something you want to do then I’ll support you 100%” Elena smiled at him.

“I almost died tonight, Elena.” Stefan sounded scared. “Because I was too weak.”

“Then let’s do this.” Elena declared.

“I'm going to ask Damon keep an eye on me just in case.” Stefan closed the fridge and together with Elena, walked up to join Damon in the parlor.

“Of course, I’ll keep an eye on you.” Damon told Stefan as him and Elena walked in. “I’ll even keep two eyes on you if that would make you feel better.”

“Thank you, Damon.” Stefan sighed in relief.

“Anytime, little brother, anytime.” Damon raised his glass toward Stefan with a smirk.

“Want me to take you home?” Elena asked as she sat down beside Caroline on the couch.

“I can’t go home.” Caroline shook her head.

“Why not?” Elena asked gently.

“Because I'm scared.” Caroline admitted.

“Of what?” Elena placed a hand on Carolines.

“Kathrine’s going to be there and she’s going to want me to tell her everything that happened today.” Caroline squeezed Elenas hand. “She told me to spy on you and report back to her.”

“You already told me that and I'm not mad or anything.” Elena looked at her.

“I know, but I'm so scared of her.” Caroline said wetly.

“As you should be, we all should be.” Elena said then smirked as she tried to lighten the mood in the room. “I'm just too much of an idiot to actually be scared.”

“You really are.” Caroline gave a wet laugh.

“Thank you.” Elena beamed at her friend as she heard Stefan and Damon laughing in the background.

“Why is she doing this?” Caroline asked. “What does she want?”

“There is a very simple answer to that question.” Elena nodded seriously. “She’s a raging bitch.”

“Elena!” Caroline snorted.

“She was probably turned when she was on her period and that just made her stuck in constant PMS and mood swings.” Elena continued.

“That wouldn’t fucking surprise me.” Damon called out.

“Right?!” Elena looked at him. “Oh, bourbon!”

Elena quickly got up and walked over to where Damon was standing. She grabbed a glass and filled it with bourbon and hummed as she sipped it. “Want some Care?”

“No thanks.” Caroline yawned. “I just want to sleep.”

“I’ll show you to a guest room.” Stefan smiled and led Caroline out of the parlor.

Elena poured bourbon in another glass and turned towards Damon. “Vamp face.”

“What?” Damon asked.

“Show me your vampire face.” Elena told him.

“Why?” Damon looked adorably confused.

“I need something sharp to cut my finger on and your fangs are the closest.” Elena smirked.

“Okay.” Damon let his vampiric nature come to the front and stood still as Elena cut her left index finger on one of his fangs.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled and squeezed some blood into the glass and mixed it with the bourbon.

“And why did you do that?” Damon asked her slowly.

“To help Stefan with the whole ‘getting used to human blood’ thing.” Elena explained and held out the glass to Stefan who walked back in.

“What did you do?” Stefan asked as he took the glass.

“I mixed some of my blood with the bourbon for you.” Elena hummed and stretched.

“Thank you.” Stefan said gratefully as he quickly downed the bourbon. His face changed but he after a few seconds he got it under control.

“Nicely done, little brother.” Damon raised his own glass in a toast.

“We’ll just keep doing this every day while upping the blood every time.” Elena said with a small gentle smile.

XOXOXOX

Elea sat at the grill waiting for Bonnie, she had called Elena and asked if they could talk and Elena decided to give Bonnie another chance. She liked Bonnie when she wasn’t such a judgmental bitch and she wanted her friend back.

“Elena.” Bonnie walked up to her table and sat down opposite her. “Thank you for meeting with me.”

“You are my friend, Bonnie.” Elena smiled slightly. “I ordered you your favorite, it should be done soon.”

“Thanks.” Bonnie smiled back. “I have done a lot of soul searching the last couple of days.”

“Find anything interesting in your search?” Elena asked with a chuckle.

“Here’s your food.” A male waiter walked up and placed the food in front of them.

“Thank you.” Bonnie and Elena chorused.

“I found out that you're right.” Bonnie admitted quietly after a while.

“About what?” Elena looked at her.

“About vampires.” Bonnie whispered.

“What made you realize that?” Elena wanted to know.

“I was at the mall and there were this group of guys that heckled me, called me names and judged me because I was black.” Bonnie started to explain. “And I remembered what you said at the carnival about that and I just knew in that moment that you were right about everything.”

“I'm proud of you Bon.” Elena smiled at her.

“I have decided that I need to apologize to both Stefan and Damon, mostly Damon, for my actions and I hoped that you would go with me?” Bonnie looked pleadingly at Elena.

“Of course, I’ll come with you.” Elena smiled. “Want to go after we’re done here?”

“Yeah, that works.” Bonnie nodded. “I hope I'm not being an inconvenience to you.”

“I was going over to the boarding house anyway.” Elena smiled as she shrugged. “I have to give Stefan his daily dose of Gilbert blood.”

“What?” Bonnie spluttered as she almost choked on her coffee.

Elena smiled and then proceeded to tell her everything that had been going on while Bonnie was getting her head straight or whatever she had been doing.

An hour later Elena led Bonnie in to the boarding house, both of them laughing at one of Elenas stupid vampire jokes.

“Elena.” Damon greeted with a smile from the couch in the parlor where he was sitting and reading a book with a glass of bourbon in his hand.

“Damon.” Elena smiled back and went to fill up a glass with bourbon.

“Witch.” Damon glared slightly at Bonnie.

Bonnie shifted awkwardly and nodded at him.

“Fang.” Elena said as she walked up to Damon.

“You could just use a knife or even a needle, you know?” Damon chuckled and brought out his fangs.

“What's the fun in that?” Elena laughed as she cut her hand slightly on his fang. Then she raised her voice and called out with a sing song tone, “Oh Stefan, breakfast is ready.”

Bonnie started to giggle and she relaxed when she saw and actually accepted how human and normal Damon was even if he was a vampire.

“Hello Elena, Bonnie.” Stefan smiled as he walked in, pulling a clean shirt over his head.

“Hey.” Bonnie blushed as she looked at Stefan’s ripped torso.

“Thanks, Elena.” Stefan took the glass and downed it.

“I wanted to talk to the both of you, if that’s alright?” Bonnie asked as she looked between Stefan and Damon.

“More judging or are you just going to try and light me on fire again?” Damon sneered.

“I deserved that.” Bonnie admitted. “I actually wanted to apologize for how I have been behaving and how I've treated you both. It was wrong of me to try and dictate how you should behave and be even though you are not human. I hope you can forgive me but I'm not expecting you to.”

Elena looked proud of her while Damon and Stefan shared a long look and then they turned towards Bonnie.

“I forgive you, but I won’t forget and I refuse to trust you until you have proven that you actually mean what you said.” Damon said seriously.

“I agree with my brother.” Stefan nodded but then he glared at Bonnie. “But if you ever try and hurt my brother again without just cause, I will show you why I'm famous in some circles.”

“That’s fair.” Bonnie agreed, feeling a little scared.

“I’ll get it.” Stefan said as there was a knock on the door.

“Hey, puppy.” Elena called out as Stefan came back into the parlor with Mason.

“You are not letting that go, are you?” Mason chuckled.

“Not on your life.” Elena smirked. “Anyway, Bonnie this is Mason, the group puppy. Mason this is Bonnie, the group hag.”

“Nice to meet you.” Mason laughed and held out his hand towards Bonnie. “To clarify, I'm a werewolf.”

“Witch.” Bonnie shook his hand then she turned towards Elena. “Hag? Really?”

“What?” Elena smirked. “You're the group hag, Mason the puppy, Stefan and Damon are the leeches and I am the crazy mascot.”

“And we love our crazy mascot!” Damon picked her up and ran around the room with her over his shoulder.

Even as she laughed, she heard Stefan ask Bonnie, “Do you know what happened to her to make her feel like she is unlovable?”

Damon put a giggling Elena down as Bonnie shook her head slowly.

“So, what can we help you with?” Elena looked at Mason with bright eyes.

“We need to talk and it is not a happy talk but you guys are my friends and I feel like I can trust you.” Mason told them slowly.

“Do I need bourbon for this talk?” Elena asked. “Eh, never mind, I'm having bourbon.”

“You drink a lot of bourbon?” Bonnie wondered as she looked at Elena.

“It makes my tummy feel all warm and tingly.” Elena beamed back.

“What is the talk about?” Stefan asked Mason as the five of them sat down in front of the fire place.

“I've been sort of working with Kathrine Pierce.” Mason mumbled but everyone heard him.

“What?!” Damon was up on his feet and glaring at Mason.

“Damon, calm down and let him talk.” Elena grabbed his arm to pull him back down. “As I've told Stefan, we are not judging our friends without having the whole story.”

“Thank you, Elena.” Mason sighed. “It started when I accidentally triggered my werewolf gene. She was there and she explained and helped me through it.”

“Accidentally?” Bonnie asked.

“It was close to a full moon and my temper was high.” Mason told them slowly. “And my best friend just starting attacking me and accusing me and we got into a fight and then he was dead.”

“And Kathrine was there and just _knew_ what had happened?” Elena asked looking at Mason.

“She was kind to me and helped me.” Mason mumbled but he sounded hesitant.

“I'm sorry to say but I think she's the reason your friend attacked you.” Elena walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, knowing what had actually happened. “She must want something from you or something.”

“The moonstone.” Mason muttered.

“What?” Damon asked.

“She wants the moonstone.” Mason said so everybody could hear. “It has something to do with The Sun and The Moon curse.”

“What curse is that?” Bonnie asked intrigued.

“Well, legends goes that it’s the curse to stop vampires from walking in the sun and force werewolves to turn on the full moon.” Elena quickly explained.

“Kathrine said that if a vampire breaks the curse, they would be able to walk in the sun unhindered but if a werewolf broke the curse, they would be able to turn into a wolf at will and without pain.” Mason told them.

“Wait a minute.” Elena muttered and turned towards Bonnie. “Magic doesn’t work like that right? I mean you can’t negate another witch’s curse by magicking something else, right?”

“That’s right.” Bonnie nodded. “Especially if you have tied the curse to something powerful.”

“What are you thinking?” Stefan asked as he looked at Elena.

“I think that Kathrine lied about what the moonstone is used for.” Elena said thoughtfully, knowing what the moonstone was actually for but she couldn’t just say that.

“How did you come to that conclusion?” Damon offered her a refill of her bourbon.

“Because if vampires not being able to walk in the sun was actually a curse than the daylight rings wouldn’t work.” Elena explained her thoughts.

“She’s right!” Bonnie exclaimed when she got what Elena was talking about. “The magic on the rings wouldn’t be able to negate the sun and the moon curse!”

“You Miss. Gilbert.” Damon picked her up and spun her around. “Are a freaking genius!”

“I have my moments.” Elena giggled and flipped her hair over her shoulder as Damon put her back down. “Wait….”

Elena turned to look at Mason, studying him closely.

“What?” Mason queried.

“Did you sleep with Kathrine?” Elena asked slowly.

“Well… ehm…I…” Mason stuttered out as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Has everyone in this town basically seen me naked?!” Elena threw her hands up in the air.

“What?” Mason gasped. “I haven’t seen you naked!”

“Technically you have.” Stefan snorted into his glass.

“Kathrine and Elena are doppelgängers, that means that they are identical.” Damon both smirked and glared at Mason at the same time. “So, if you have seen Kathrine naked, you have also, sort of anyway, seen Elena naked.”

“Oh god.” Mason looked up at Elena then he looked away with a blush.

“Now you are imagining me naked, aren’t you?” Elena smirked deviously.

“I'm sorry!” Mason burrowed his face in his hands.

“Eh, it’s okay.” Elena laughed. “Everyone in this room has technically seen me naked, so you're not alone. Bonnie is the only one who has seen me, as in Elena, naked though.”

“True.” Bonnie giggled.

“Oh ho, you learn something new every day.” Damon wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Elena and Bonnie.

“Communal showers after cheerleading, you perv.” Bonnie threw a pillow at him.

“Nope, I prefer my version.” Damon smirked.

“Can we focus back on the whole Kathrine debacle and what we should do about it?” Stefan asked even as he laughed. “Instead of the very pleasant mental picture of Elena and Bonnie?”

“I have a question.” Damon said as he sat back down. “Why are you telling us if you are in a relationship with Kathrine?”

“I have never really trusted her and that mistrust as become worse in resent week because the only thing she talks about is the moonstone.” Mason said. “And…”

“And?” Elena coaxed when Mason became quiet.

“You guys have become pack.” Mason admitted quietly.

“Really?” Elena asked delighted.

“How does that even work?” Stefan wondered. “I mean, we are not werewolves.”

“I don’t know how it works I only know that since the barbeque at Jenna’s place you, Damon and Elena have started to feel like pack.” Mason shrugged.

“Who’s alpha?” Damon asked with a smirk, looking cocky. “It’s me, isn’t it?”

“Elena actually.” Mason looked at Elena and shrugged.

“Me?” Elena looked around the room wide eyed.

“Werewolves aren’t like regular wolf even though they sort of are.” Mason tried to explain.

“That clears it up.” Damon muttered.

“Werewolves have a hierarchy like a regular wolfpack but the lines between ‘Alpha’ and the rest of the pack isn’t as clear.” Mason continued. “Everyone is more equal but there is one in a werewolf pack that is considered ‘Alpha’ and that is the person everyone in the pack trusts and looks up to and in this case that’s Elena.”

“I am not someone who should be put in charge of anything!” Elena looked at all of them.

“We trust you to do the right thing Elena.” Stefan smiled at her. “And we’ll all be here to help.”

“Does that make us an official pack?” Damon smiled.

“I don’t care if it’s official or not.” Mason shrugged. “You guys are my pack, my family.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Elena bounced over and hugged Mason.

Mason hugged back and at the same time he nuzzled his face into her neck and breathed in her sent.

“What are you doing?” Elena giggled. “That tickles.”

“Sorry.” Mason pulled back, embarrassed. “I was sent marking, it’s an instinct I've been fighting for a few days.”

“Does that mean you want to nuzzle our necks to?” Damon smirked at him.

“Nah, just a simple touch works most of the time.” Mason chuckled.

“Is it different with Elena because she’s ‘alpha’?” Bonnie asked softly, looking curious.

“Yea, and her sent is also something that will calm me down around the full moon.” Mason shifted awkwardly.

“Not to dampen the mood or anything but how are we going to protect Mason from Kathrine when she finds out he’s not hers anymore.” Stefan asked hesitantly.

“We fake his death and then he can go back to Florida and tie up loose ends until we have dealt with Kathrine.” Elena hummed as she downed the last of her bourbon.

“How are we going to do that?” Damon looked at Elena.

“Mason, did you tell Kathrine about your friendship with us?” Elena turned to Mason.

“No, I just told her that you had figured out that I was a werewolf but not why I was in town.” Mason informed her.

“Good.” Elena smirked. “Then this is what we’ll do; we all go to the Lockwood mansion to help with the whole decorating thing, then, to make it believable, Damon and Stefan are going to knock you out and “kidnap” you…or I guess “wolfnap” but I digress.”

“I assume you want us to bring him back here?” Stefan asked with a smirk.

“Yup and then when Kathrine calls Damon is going to answer and basically tell her that Mason is dead.” Elena told them. “How you tell her is completely up to you though.”

“This is going to be so much fun.” Damon laughed with shining eyes.

XOXOXOX

Elena, Bonnie and Stefan had arrived at the Lockwood mansion together but had been split up to do different tasks. Elena was sent to sort through some masks when Damon and Jeremy walked up to her.

“Damon?” Elena playing at being shocked. “I thought you said that you weren’t going to help today.”

“I did but then baby Gilbert came to talk to me about Mason being after the moonstone which he found out from Tyler Lockwood.” Damon smirked.

“And then Damon told me that Mason had already told you all everything and I feel like an idiot.” Jeremy looked embarrassed.

“I actually think it’s quite impressive that you found out all that on your own.” Elena looked proudly at her brother.

“I want to help more.” Jeremy admitted. “I know that you kept me out of it to protect me but I really want to help, Lena.”

“Lena?” Damon murmured.

“Nick name from when we were kids and a sign of affection.” Jeremy shrugged.

“Yeah, it’s ten times better then NaNa.” Elena chuckled, remembering the home video she had watched when she first woke up in this world. “When Jeremy was very little, he couldn’t say Elena so I became NaNa.”

“That changed when I was around 5, I think.” Jeremy laughed. “That’s when ‘Lena’ came into play.

“That is adorable.” Damon mock gushed. “But now I need a nickname for Elena.”

“Why?” Elena asked with her head tilted to the side.

“Because I said so.” Damon smirked.

“So, what are you gonna call me?” Elena looked at him.

“I don’t know yet.” Damon shrugged. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

“Aren't you and Stefan going to commence the wolfnapping?” Elena hummed softly.

“Of course, we are just setting the scene.” Damon walked off with a chuckle.

Around an hour later Elena had been joined by Matt in sorting through mask and costumes.

“So, where’s Caroline?” Matt asked while trying to sound casual. “This is like her thing, I can’t believe she's not here.”

“She had something else to do.” Elena shrugged.

“Is she avoiding me since she broke up with me?” Matt turned towards Elena seriously.

“No, she's not avoiding you.” Elena told him. “She just had something to do.”

Elena almost sighed in relief when Stefan walked into the room with a box filled with more masks. If Matt had kept asking questions, she would have either screamed at him or punched him and knowing herself option two was the most likely.

“Has anyone seen Mason?” Tyler walked in behind Stefan.

“I saw him take a call and then he took off.” Stefan lied expertly.

“So weird.” Tyler shook his head and walked off.

Stefan suddenly pulled his phone out and then he gestured for Elena to follow him. As Stefan drove them to the old Lockwood property, he explained about the plan Stefan and Mason had come up with.

“We need the moonstone to fool Kathrine into thinking that Mason is really dead.” Stefan stopped the car. “But Mason said that the well he hid it in is filled with vervain, so you’ll have to go down and get it.”

“But how are we going to fool the world into thinking that Mason is really dead?” Elena asked as they walked towards the well on the old Lockwood property.

“Bonnie actually come up with a plan.” Stefan smiled. “She is creating a pendant that contains a glamor.”

“What will this glamor do?” Elena looked at Stefan from the corner of her eye.

“It will basically make him look like someone else to everyone not keyed into the pendant.” Stefan explained. “And before you ask, to get keyed into the pendant you have to place a drop of blood on it.”

“That is quite genius.” Elena nodded and bent over to look into the well when they arrived. “How are we doing this?”

“We’ll use this to lower you down and then I’ll pull you up when you give the signal.” Stefan picked up an old rusted chain from the ground.

“Sounds good.” Elena smiled and took of her jacket. At Stefans look she shrugged, “I don’t want to ruin it, Jeremy got it for me.”

Elena had wrapped the chain around herself and hooked it into one of the links. She nodded at Stefan and he started to slowly lower her into the well. When she was around halfway down there was an ominous creaking sound and then the chain snapped.

Elena screamed as she fell the rest of the way down and then the end of the chain came down and hit her over her left shoulder and her back. The pain was white hot and Elena tried to call out but the sound force in her throat.

“Elena!” Stefan called and looked down at her.

“I'm…” Elena had to lean against the wall of the well. “I'm okay, sort of.”

“What do you mean ‘sort of’?” Stefan demanded to know.

“It’s nothing.” Elena called back not wanting to make him worry. “How am I getting out of here after I find the moonstone?”

“You search for the moonstone and I’ll call Caroline and have her come here with a very sturdy, long rope.” Stefan called back to her.

Elena started to look for the stone but the water was murky which made it harder. The pain from the chain hitting her were making her dizzy and unsteady, her vision becoming double every few seconds.

“I found it!” Elena shouted as she finally after several minutes of searching found the box with the moonstone. Then she swayed and fell into the wall, making flames of pain race through her body.

“Stefan!” Elena called out weakly as she started to cough up blood. “Somethings wrong.”

“Elena! Just hold on, Caroline is almost here!” Stefan sounded worried.

After that Elena started to lose time, one minute she was standing in the well, the next she was sinking down with her back against the well wall as everything started to go black.

XOXOXOX

Elena woke up in a weird place and she does mean weird. The sky above her was filled with different planets and galaxies and she was walking on something that reflected the sky making it seem like she was surrounded by several galaxies.

“Where am I?” Elenas voice echoed around her.

“You are everywhere and nowhere.” A voice said from behind her.

“It’s you.” Elena breathed out as she saw the dark being standing there like it was completely normal.

“Hello, dear one, I have wanted to meet you for a long, long time.” The Being said as its black formless appearance started to morph. “I'm sorry for snapping the chain but it was the only way for us to be able to talk.”

“Why not talk to me when you visited my room.” Elena wondered.

“It would have taken up too much time.” The being sounded like it smiled. “Here we could talk for years while mere seconds pass in your world.”

Elena gasped as The Beings form finally settled on an appearance and she finally figured out what and who The Being was.

“You're Death.” Elena said with certainty.

“Indeed, I am, dear one, indeed I am.” Death smiled gently at her. Then it conjured a mirror to look at itself. “So, this is how you see Death.”

“How I see death?” Elena asked confused.

“This image is merely a reflection on how you see me.” Death explained patiently as he/it admired themselves in the mirror. “I do not technically have a shape or form; I take the shape or form of what the people I meet think and expects me to look like. But I must admit that I do like this one.”

“Oh?” Elena hummed.

“Most just see me as a skeleton in a dark robe with a big scythe, but not you.” Death smiled at her.

“Guess I've watched too much Supernatural.” Elena shrugged with an embarrassed smile. And it must be true if Death actually took the form of death from Supernatural as her…default?

“Delightful show.” Death agreed.

“Why am I here and why did you want to talk to me?” Elena decided to ask.

“I have watched you for a long time, as I said.” Death turned towards her. “Your whole life as Alex and you impressed me. You are the sort of person who sees people instead of labels but also doesn’t fear me or try to prevent me from getting my souls.”

“You should always greet Death as an old friend.” Elena said quietly.

“And that is one of the reasons I gave you a second chance at life when your life as Alexandra ended.” Death smiled at her.

“But what happened to Elena? The real Elena?” Elena asked softly. “Did I just erase her from exitance?”

“No, dear one, you did not ‘erase her from exitance’ as you say.” Death chuckled. “She was already dead and her soul had left her body which is how I was able to place you in her body. Because no matter what the Harry Potter books tell you, there can’t be more than on soul in a vessel at a time and if two should somehow end up in the same vessel the stronger soul destroys the weaker one.”

“It’s freaking awesome that you read Harry Potter.” Elena laughed then she sobered up. “So, what happened?”

“The car crash that killed Elena Gilbert’s parents weakened on of the blood vessels in her brain and one day the pressure on the vessel got to much and it broke, resulting in Elena Gilbert dying in her sleep.”

“You said me feeling like you should always greet Death…. you as an old friend was ONE of the reasons you gave me a second chance.” Elena looked at Death. “What are the others?”

“This world, the one I sent you to, was going down a very dark path.” Death explained calmy. “And if it had kept going the way it was it would have been destroyed. You being there has already changed things for the better and the future already looks brighter.”

“No pressure huh?” Elena asked sarcastically.

“As you have noticed some things has to happen and that’s why you feel a pull to do something or say something at some points or why you forget important ‘plot points’.” Death smiled.

“What about the tattoos between my breasts, what are those?” Elena wanted to know.

“To be able to move you from your world to this one, certain changes had to be made.” Death looked both sad and happy which was a weird combination. “I had to claim you as my chosen and I have never done that before. Those ‘tattoos’ are what binds you to me and to that body, so to speak”

“What does that entail?” Elena asked slowly, worried for the answer.

“You are the closest I will ever get to having a child of my own, you are my daughter.” Death looked at her with love. “This also makes you immortal in some ways.”

“Immortal how?” Elena demanded to know.

“I am not certain, as I said you are my daughter. I have never done this before so I do not know how it will affect you, my dear.” Death told her. “But my theory is that while your body will be mortal your soul will be truly immortal and will never enter the afterlife.”

“If my soul can’t enter the after life what will happen when I die?” Elena asked softly.

“You will join me wherever I am and you could spend some time with me or I could send you to be reborn in another world of your choosing.” Death said gently. “And the ‘tattoos’ will always appear on your body but not always in the same place.”

“What happens if I get turned into a vampire?” Elena wondered softly.

“Then you’ll be a vampire but you might be stronger and faster than just a regular vampire being the daughter of Death.” Death smiled at her. “Vampires are part of my domain after all. Gaia, mother nature, and I created vampires for a reason that you have already figured out.”

“Population control.” Elena smiled. It was nice to know her theory about vampires were right.

“Precisely, my dear.” Death nodded.

Elena stood there for a long while, just thinking about everything that has been said. She didn’t know if she wanted to be immortal but… she had no clue what to think. She was grateful to have a second chance at life and she absolutely loved her friend and family in her new life, so she decided to be thankful and just roll with the punches so to speak.

Elena walked up to Death slowly and hugged him, “Thank you.”

Death stood stiffly in Elenas arms for a while, like he had never been hugged before, then he slowly relaxed and hugged her back with very careful and gentle movements. “You are welcome, dear one.”

After they pulled back Death explained to her that after she got back, she would start noticing that some animals would be drawn to her, like crows, ravens and other animals associated with death. That didn’t bother Elena at all, she loved most animals as long as it wasn’t like spiders or creepy crawlies with lots of legs, but she didn’t really count insects as animals anyway.

Elena stretched several hours later when Death had told her everything she wanted to know, “Thank you for explaining to me.”

“Anytime, dear one.” Death smiled. “Are you ready to go back?”

“I can’t tell anyone about this, can I?” Elena asked sadly.

“I'm afraid not.” Death acknowledged with a nod. “But no one will be able to compel it out of you either.”

“Am I going to be immune to compulsion? And will I be able to talk to you if I want to?” Elena liked talking to Death and from what she could see Death liked having someone to talk to too, someone that wasn’t dead at least.

“With time you might build a resistance towards compulsion and to talk to me you’ll have to meditate and be calm and I’ll be able talk to you in your mind.” Death smiled gently at her.

“Well then, let’s get this show on the road!” Elena chuckled and just as Death touched her forehead she smiled and said. “I’ll see you around dad.”

XOXOXOX

Elena sat up with a gasp. The gasp had alerted the others in the room and they rushed over to where she was sitting on a bed.

“What happened?” Elena asked as she looked around. Damon, Stefan, Jeremy, Caroline, Bonnie and Mason were standing around her bed with relived expressions on their faces.

“What do you remember?” Stefan asked slowly.

“We were going to get the moonstone from a well full of vervain, the chain broke and hit me and then you had to call Caroline.” Elena told them. “I found the moonstone and then…”

“You stumbled into the well wall and the three ribs that broke when the chain hit you were pushed into your lung.” Stefan explained what had happened. “You were drowning in your own blood.”

“But I didn’t.” Elena gestured to herself. “Obviously.”

“But it was a close call.” Caroline told her. “If I hadn’t arrived when I did and Stefan hadn’t had me lower him into the well to get you up you wouldn’t be here.”

“But I feel fine.” Elena looked earnestly at them.

“Only because Stefan, Caroline and me gave you our blood.” Damon stated as he gently grabbed her hand.

“You almost died, Lena!” Jeremy actually sobbed as he hugged her close.

“Your heart stopped for ten seconds.” Stefan took a gasping breath.

“I'm am so, so, so sorry!” Mason mumbled. “It’s all my fault.”

“Okay, that’s it, pity party over!” Elena stood up, absentmindedly noting that she was wearing Stefans sweatpants and Damons shirt, and looked at her friends and family seriously. “I am fine and my injury is nobody’s fault but the rusty chain that decided to give up on its own life. We clear?!”

“Yes ma’am!” The others chorused and everyone started to laugh.

After they had calmed down Elena turned towards Stefan and Caroline, “Are you two okay? I know I was covered in vervain when you pulled me up from the well.”

“We’re fine, all healed.” Caroline smiled.

“How did it go with the glamor pendant thingy?” Elena turned towards Bonnie and Mason.

“It’s done but we haven't tried it yet.” Bonnie smiled and held out a silver necklace that looked like an arrow head with a red stone in the middle. “Mason, I need you to put this one, okay? I have already keyed me, Jeremy and Damon to it so we can see if it works.”

“I like it.” Mason said as he inspected it before putting it on.

“Whoa.” Caroline hummed. “That is really cool.”

“So, it works?” Mason asked.

“Yeah, I would say so.” Elena laughed. “Even your voice sound slightly different.”

“He looks and sound the same to me.” Damon said and Jeremy nodded in agreement.

“To me he looks like a blond surfer, he sort of reminds me of Deeks from NCIS: Los Angeles.” Elena told them.

“That’s where I recognize him from.” Stefan chuckled.

“Seriously good job, Bonnie!” Elena hugged her friend proudly.

“Now we just need to key the rest of you to the pendant.” Bonnie smiled. “Need all of you to prick your finger and smear a drop of your blood on the red stone while I chant, okay?”

“Let’s do this shiz.” Elena took the needle from Bonnie and pricked her finger.

Two hours later Jeremy and Elena walked into the Gilbert house to find Alaric cooking in their kitchen.

“Need any help?” Elena asked as they joined Ric.

“If you could set the table, that would be helpful.” Alaric smiled.

“Why does it smell like fireball in here?” Elena sniffed the air.

Jeremy took a whiff and turned to Elena with a smirk. “It’s cinnamon you fucking alcoholic!”

“Oh, right.” Elena gave a bright smile as Alaric almost broke down in laughter but managed to keep standing.

“Where’s aunt Jenna?” Jeremy asked.

Alaric nodded to were Jenna was talking on the phone.

“Who is she talking to?” Elena wondered.

“No idea.” Alaric shrugged. “Everything go okay today?”

“Yeah, we did have a few hiccups but it solved itself.” Elena smiled.

“You almost dying isn’t a hiccup, Lena!” Jeremy glared.

“You what?” Alaric dropped the wooden spoon he was using to stir with,

“I'm fine.” Elena reassured as Jenna walked back into the kitchen.

“Elena it’s for you.” Jenna held out the phone with a tiny smirk and mischief in her eyes.

“Hello?” Elena hummed.

“Hello, Elena.” Kathrine greeted from the other end.

“Kathrine.” Elena said back, sounding bored.

“Do you know how easy it was to get inside your house?” Kathrine had a smirk in her voice. “To replace aunt Jenna’s vervain perfume, to convince her to stop drinking her special tea?”

“What’s your point?” Elena asked with a bored sigh.

“What will it take for you to realize that I'm always one step ahead?” Kathrine asked mockingly. “I hope me compelling Jenna to stab herself with a knife will make you get the message.”

“Oh, you are so, so, so slow.” Elena chuckled. “You really think I wouldn’t protect my family against you or vampires in general?”

“Say good bye to your aunt.” Kathrine growled.

“Hey Jenna?” Elena called out. “Are you going to stab yourself with a knife or something?”

“God no, why would I do that?” Jenna laughed.

“Something you should know about me, Kathrine, is that I will always protect my family and friends.” Elena informed her doppelgänger darkly. “And if I can’t protect them, I'm sure as hell going to avenge them!”

Elena hung up the phone with a smirk. She had just quoted Tony Stark from The Avengers two years before the movie even premiered and no one knew. It was a good line tho.

And Jenna was protected thanks to the information Pearl and Anna had given them about Kathrine. Kathrine made a big mistake in forsaking Pearl to rot in a tomb for 145 years because Pearl could be vicious when she was mad.

“Well, it seems like the vervain anklet was a good idea.” Jenna smiled.

“What?” Elena asked perplexed.

“I went to the jewelers and asked them to first put some vervain in one of the hearts on the anklet and then soak the anklet in vervain for twenty-four hours.” Jenna told them. “I said it was for a religious reason and they accepted that.”

“Awesome!” Elena did a happy dance around the kitchen.

As they sat down to eat Elena heard a distant chuckled in her head and smiled. She was going to protect her family against everyone and anyone who wanted to harm them, she wouldn’t fail, how could she with Death on her side?

**A/N: A chapter, yay!**

**Paring tally at the moment:**

**Damon/Jeremy: 4**

**Damon/Rose: 8**

**Damon/Enzo: 18**

**Damon/Enzo/Jeremy: 1**

**Damon/Kol: 3**

**Damon/Rebekah: 1**

**Damon/Mason: 3**

**Damon/Jeremy/Kol: 1**

**Jeremy/Tyler: 3**

**Jeremy/Kol: 16**

**Jeremy/Davina: 3**

**Jeremy/Kol/Davina: 2**

**Jeremy/Rebekah: 1**

**Jeremy/Caroline: 1**

**Stefan/Rebekah: 2**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	16. A Maquerading Rose

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

Elena drove her and Jeremy to the Boarding House, she didn’t let her bike come bellow 60mph even when Jeremys arms tightened around her waist almost painfully. It had been a few days since the whole ‘Kathrine tried to compel Jenna’ incident and now Kathrine had threatened Caroline at the grill.

Apparently, she was pissed that they had “killed” Mason and there by destroying her only lead to the moonstone. Elena actually sort of liked Kathrine’s character in later seasons but right now she was being such a bitch!

Elena quickly parked her bike and then her and Jeremy rushed into the boarding house to see Caroline on the sofa with Stefan and Damon standing around her.

“Caroline are you okay?!” Elena walked over and pulled her best friend into a hug.

“I feel better now.” Caroline hugged her back before she was pulled into Jeremys arms instead.

“So, what's going on?” Elena looked at Damon.

“Well, as I said over the phone Kathrine threatened Caroline at the grill.” Damon took a drink from his glass and then he recapped what Caroline had told him and Stefan.

“She wants to do it in public.” Stefan explained after Damon was finished. “Us “killing” Mason threw her of guard.”

“What she tried to do to Jenna was desperate and when that didn’t work, she lost all her tricks.” Damon sneered.

“We can’t underestimate her.” Stefan cautioned. “We have to be smarter than her.”

“Can’t we just give her the moonstone so she’ll leave?” Caroline asked.

“No, Kathrine is not getting dick, I have had it!” Damon started to pace. “I'm going to the masquerade ball and I'm going to kill her, tonight!”

“Can I help?” Stefan smiled hopefully at his older brother.

“Absolutely, little brother.” Damon smirked. “We can even make a whole brotherly bonding thing out of it.”

“Actually, I think both you and Caroline are on to something.” Elena hummed.

“What do you have cooking in that mind of yours now, sister-mine?” Jeremy asked with a smile.

“We pretend that we are ready to hand over the moonstone but instead we have Bonnie do a spell that will trap Kathrine in a room so that Damon and Stefan can stake her.” Elena smirked.

“You are a devious genius and I am very happy that you are on our side.” Stefan said after a while.

“Thanks.” Elena beamed at him. “Hey Stefan, could you call Bonnie and tell her that Alaric will pick her up soon so they can come here? And tell her to bring her witch’s cookbook.”

“Yes Alpha.” Stefan smirked.

“Oh, shut up.” Elena chuckled then she turned to Damon. “Call Alaric, would you, and tell him to bring Jenna as they pick up Bonnie on their way here.”

“Yes Mistress.” Damon bowed his head with a smirk and Elena froze.

“You okay?” Caroline asked Elena.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Elena shook her head to clear it. “I need bourbon.”

Thirty minutes later Caroline led Jenna, Alaric and Bonnie into the parlor.

“What’s going on?” Bonnie asked as all of them sat down in the available chairs and couches.

“We’re going to kill Kathrine!” Jeremy said enthusiastically.

“You sound very happy about murder, dear nephew.” Jenna laughed.

“I can explain.” Stefan piped up.

“Please.” Bonnie looked at him.

“We’re going to kill Kathrine.” Stefan smiled.

“That explains it.” Bonnie nodded seriously. “Apparently we’re killing Kathrine.”

Elena explained her plan to everyone and then she turned to Bonnie. “Can you do a spell that will trap a specific person in a room?”

“Not a specific person no.” Bonnie looked thoughtful. “But there is this spell I read about that traps vampires in a room for a few hours or days or until I take down the spell.”

“Sounds good. By the way, here.” Elena pulled the moonstone from her bra and gave it to Bonnie. “You’ll have to carry this burden.”

“Wait, you’ve had the moonstone in your bra this whole time?” Damon asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not the whole time.” Elena denied. “Just when I leave the house.”

“Why your bra?” Stefan wanted to know.

“Because no one expects me to carry it around in my bra.” Elena shrugged and smiled. “Plus, if someone tried to check my bra I’ll just have to scream ‘rape’ and have several people come to my defense.”

“She’s not wrong.” Jenna laughed.

Alaric, who had been placing several different weapons on a table, called for everyone’s attention. He then started to explain how all the weapons worked and what they were used for.

“This works with compressed air. The trigger mechanism is up here.” Alaric pointed at the trigger. “I have two of these in different sizes. My idea is for me and Jenna to have these and guard the ‘perimeter’ of the party.”

“That is a good idea.” Elena nodded. “That way if she manages to get away from the rest of us you two will be ready.”

“For you two I recommend this.” Alaric nodded at Damon and Stefan. “It fits nicely under the jacket sleeve of a suit and you just trigger it when you are ready.”

“Never thought this would be something I would do.” Stefan laughed softly.

“Jeremy has three stakes on his person right now.” Alaric nodded at the teen. “One for himself, one for Caroline and one extra.”

“Thank you for being my escort to the ball, Jeremy.” Caroline smiled at him.

“No problem, we will have an amazing time.” Jeremy assured her.

“Elena, I want you to use this.” Alaric held out a black scarf. “This has been soaked in vervain and the tread is actually made by using the vervain plant.”

“This will work well with my dress.” Elena smiled as she took the scarf.

“So, Stefan is bait, right?” Jeremy smirked as he looked at said vampire.

“Why do I have to be bait?” Stefan almost whined.

“Because our crazy sire is still obsessed with you and wants you back.” Damon laughed at his little brothers’ predicament. “I on the other hand, gets to escort the lovely Elena Gilbert.”

“And on that point, I'm going home to get ready.” Elena started to walk out. “Jeremy, you want a ride or are you going with Jenna and Alaric?”

“I’ll go with you.” Jeremy smiled. “Caroline, I’ll pick you up at your place.”

“And I’ll pick you up at the Gilbert house, Elena.” Damon called after them.

XOXOXOX

Later that evening Elena stood outside her house waiting for Damon to pick her up. Her hair was in loose curls, falling around her face which was covered in a blood red mask that had almost like a delicate horn in the middle and amber like pearls hanging from different points of the mask.

The mask matched the beautiful dark red, long lace mermaid dress that she was wearing. It was almost like a halter neck dress that ended at her feet, but from the knee down there was only lace.

As Damon pulled up and got out of the car, he almost stumbled when he saw her.

“You look breathtaking.” Damon kissed the top of her hand.

“Thank you and you look very handsome in your suit.” Elena blushed slightly and felt lucky that it was dark and her blush wouldn’t be noticeable.

When they arrived at the masquerade they walked inside and were sociable for around an hour.

“I need some air.” Elena smiled at Damon. “I think I’ll just take a walk around the grounds for a while.”

“Are you sure?” Damon asked softly.

“I think the reason we haven't seen Kathrine is that I'm here so I shall leave so you can kill her.” Elena kissed him on the cheek and walked out.

As Elena walked around the grounds, she thought about everything and nothing. She didn’t really have a conscious destination in mind as she walked and just let her feet led her where they wanted.

She didn’t know how long she had been king when she bumped into Jeremy and Bonnie outside. Elena hugged them both and asked, “How’s everything going?”

“You were right about her not showing up until you were gone.” Jeremy informed her.

Suddenly Elena screamed as a stabbing pain went through her, resonating from her back.

“Elena?!” Jeremy rushed forward as Elena screamed again. “What’s going on?!”

“Its Kathrine.” Bonnie realized. “She's linked herself to Elena and Elena suffers through everything Kathrine does. You need to get Stefan and Damon to stop, now!”

Jeremy rushed off as Elena whimpered in pain and tears run down her cheeks.

“It hurts.” Elena whimpered as fresh pain assaulted her. “Please make it stop.”

“I can’t break the spell, Elena, I'm so sorry.” Bonnie was crying to as she held out her hand to Elena. “But I can try to take some of the pain away, okey?”

“Okay.” Elena gasped out as she shook in pain.

“Ascinda, mulaf, hinto, ascinda…”

“Are you okay?!” Jeremy asked as he came back.

“Are they?” Elena asked tiredly.

“They're stuck in there with her.” Jeremy admitted as he turned to look at Bonnie. “You were right; Kathrine had a witch link Elena to her.”

“Jeremy, stay with Elena and keep pressure on her shoulder!” Bonnie ordered as she got up.

“Where are you going?” Jeremy asked as he kneeled beside his sister.

“There’s another witch here, I'm going to find her!” Bonnie told him as she ran off.

Jeremy took of his Gilbert ring and tried to give it to Elena. “Here, take it.”

“No, Jeremy…” Elena pushed his hand holding the ring away.

“Lena please, you need it more than me.” Jeremy begged her.

“What I need is for you to be safe.” Elena smiled softly at her little brother.

When the whole ordeal is over Elena pushes Jeremy to offer Bonnie a ride home. She doesn’t know why but she starts walking to where she somehow knows Stefan is.

“Elena!” Stefan ran up to her.

“Hey, I'm okay.” Elena reassured. “The moment the linking spell was broken all off my wounds disappeared, sadly the blood did not.”

“That’s a relief.” Stefan smiled and then he told her what they had done with Kathrine.

“You put her in the tomb?” Elena started to laugh. “Oh, the poetic justice of that is just incredible.”

“I'm going to go see if Damon is okay.” Stefan said slowly. “But I can drive you home first if you want?”

“Thanks, but I’ll just ask Alaric and Jenna for a ride.” Elena smiled. “Go and check on your brother.”

“Thank you.” Stefan kissed her on the cheek before he rushed off towards wherever his brother was.

Elena started to make her way towards Alarics car when someone placed a chloroform-soaked rag over her nose and mouth. She tried to fight but she felt herself become weaker and weaker until everything went black.

XOXOXOX

Elena woke up as someone placed her on something soft-ish and removed the rope around her hands and feet. Why did this keep happening to her? Like seriously, did she have a sign over her head that said ‘please knock me out’?

“Who the fuck are you?” Elena glared at the man, Trevor if she remembered correctly.

“Shh.” Trevor hushed her.

“I will hurt you if you come any closer to me with those teeth.” Elena kept glaring. “And you could just ask first if you wanted a few sips of my blood, you know.”

“Trevor!” A woman called out. “Control yourself.”

“Buzzkill.” Trevor muttered as he left the room.

“Shouldn’t that be up to me?” Elena asked.

“What?” The woman, Rose, looked at her.

“If I want Trevor to drink my blood, and I'm really not saying that I do, then that’s my choice, not yours:” Elena raised an eyebrow as she looked at Rose.

“Oh my god,” Rose whispered as she came closer. “You look just like her.”

“What do you want?” Elena groaned. “Like seriously? I just wanted to go home, get out of this dress and then sleep for about a week.”

“I want you to be quiet.” Rose told her.

“And I want a million dollars but we can’t always get what we want, now can we.” Elena smirked.

“True but I can at least make my wish come true.” Roes glared at Elena before slapping her hard enough to knock her out.

Elena woke up some unspecified time later and wished, not for the first time, that her dress had pocket in which she could have stuffed her phone.

“How’s the girl?” Elena heard Rose ask from somewhere upstairs.

“Still passed out.” Trevor said.

“You didn’t touch her, did you?” Rose demanded to know.

“Give me some credit, will you. Even though she looks really good in that dress.” Trevor hummed but turned serious again. “So, you called him?”

“No, I called on of his contacts.” Rose sighed. “You know how this works.”

“Did you or did you not get a message to Elijah?” Trevor sounded annoyed.

“They said he got it.” Rose told him.

“Wonderful and then what?” Trevor wondered.

Elena decided to try and get out of there and slowly and as silently as she could she walked up the stairs while still listening in on Rose’s and Trevor’s conversation.

They kept talking about Elijah and that name made a bell ring in Elena’s head. She knew who he was, didn’t she? Elena accidentally stepped on a squeaky floor board making Rose and Trevor turn to her.

“You! There is nothing around here for miles.” Rose Quickly walked up to her. “If you think you are getting out of this house, you're tragically mistaken. Understood?”

“Who’s Elijah?” Elena asked instead of answering.

“Your worst nightmare.” Rose glared.

“Eh, I don’t know about that.” Elena muttered. “My nightmares can be pretty horrible.”

“You're really not scared of us, are you?” Trevor asked slowly.

“Nope, not really.” Elena shrugged. “Anyway, anyone seen my scarf?”

“You weren’t wearing one when I got you.” Trevor told her, then he walked out.

“Damn, I really liked that scarf.” Elena mumbled quietly. Then she turned towards Rose, “You said I'm not allowed to leave, but can I at least explore? I am bored out of my mind.”

“Fine, but only the bottom floor.” Rose growled.

“Yay!” Elena cheered and walked out to start exploring.

Around two hours later Elena found Rose in a room and decided to join her.

“So, what do you want from me?” Elena chirped.

“You keep asking like I'm actually going to answer.” Rose glared at her.

“It’s not like I can go anywhere and you did have me kidnapped so the least you can do is tell me why.” Elena looked at her seriously.

“Personally, I want nothing from you; I'm just the delivery service.” Rose smirked.

“You are a human trafficker!!!” Elena shouted at her in mock accusation.

“No!” Rose looked offended at the mere thought.

“Oh, so who are you delivering me to? Elijah?” Elena suddenly calm as a cucumber again.

“Two points to the eavesdropper.” Rose glared.

“Is he a vampire?” Elena wondered as she looked around the room.

“He’s one of _the_ vampires, the originals.” Rose turned to her.

“So, you are like a food delivery service or something then?” Elena chuckled as she looked at Rose.

“Haven't the Salvatore’s been teaching you vampire history?” Rose asked.

“You know Stefan and Damon then?” Elena hummed.

“I know of them. A hundred years back, a friend of mine tried to set me up with Stefan.” Rose explained. “She said he was one of the good ones. Om more of a sucker for the bad boys though but I digress.”

“Oh, I though you and Trevor…” Elena trailed off.

“Trevor is my best friend and we’ve been running for 500 years.” Rose turned towards Elena again. “We’re using you to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess.”

“It’s because I'm a doppelgänger, isn’t it?” Elena murmured.

“You do know some things at least.” Rose smirked. “You are the key to breaking the curse.”

“Isn’t the moonstone the key to breaking the sun and the moon curse?” Elena asked slowly.

“No, the moonstone is what binds the curse.” Rose smirked at her again. “The sacrifice is what breaks it.”

Then Elena suddenly remembered who Elijah was and why the moonstone was important. Oh, poor Niklaus who had been forced to live as only half of himself for centuries.

“I'm the sacrifice, aren’t I?” Elena hummed even if she already knew.

Rose and Elena walked back into the room where Elena first woke up, still talking.

“Why can’t they use Kathrine?” Elena looked at Rose.

“Captivity had made her pushy, eh?” Trevor chuckled as he walked in. “What do you want to know doppelicious?”

“Well, you could tell me why they can’t use Kathrine in the sacrifice and who you are running from.” Elena smiled gently at him, wondering if she could save him.

“Because the sacrifice needs a human doppelgänger.” Trevor told her. “As for who we are running from; The Originals.”

“I assume by that, that they are the original vampires.” Elena said thoughtfully.

“Yup and Rose and I pissed them off.” Trevor murmured.

“Mm-hmm.” Rose coughed.

“Correction.” Trevor hummed. “I pissed them off, Rose had my back and for over half a millennium, they’ve wanted us dead.”

“What did you do?” Elena wanted to know.

“He made the same mistake as countless others did: he trusted Katerina Petrova.” Rose glared into space.

“Kathrine is such a bitch.” Elena groaned.

“That she is.” Rose agreed.

“I helped her escape her fate and I've, sorry, we've been marked ever since.” Trevor finished the explanation.

“Which is why we’re not going to make the same mistake again.” Rose informed Elena.

“I wouldn’t want either of you to risk your life for mine.” Elena huffed and walked over to the couch and sits down.

She noticed a hand written note and discreetly read it. ‘Stefan and Damon are coming for you. – Bonnie’

A while later Trevor came rushing into the room in a panic.

“He’s here!” Trevor started to pace. “This was a mistake.”

“No, I told you I would get us out of this.” Rose told him firmly. “You have to trust me.”

“No!” Trevor looked at her with scared eyes. “He wants me dead, Rose!”

“He wants her more!” Rose gestured towards Elena.

“I can’t do this!” Trevor’s panic was getting the best of him. “You give her to him; he’ll have mercy in you but I need to get out of here.”

“Hey!” Rose called out loudly. “What are we?”

“We’re family,” Trevor murmured. “Forever.”

“You're scared.” Elena murmured as there was a knock on the door.

“Stay here with her and don’t make a sound.” Rose instructed as she left to open the door.

Elena stood in front of the couch not really knowing what to do when she heard Rose arrive back with Elijah. She turned to look up at the stairs at the original and almost gasped, Daniel Gillies, the man that played Elijah in the tv show, was a very handsome man but Elijah took it to a whole other level.

Well, that could just be the suit, Elena always did like a man in a suit. She saw the surprise on his face when suddenly he was in front of her. Elijah looked at her and bent down to smell her neck.

“Human. It’s impossible.” Elijah sounded delighted as he pulled back. “Hello there.”

“Step away from the merchandise before said merchandise decides to rip your throat out with her teeth!” Elena huffed, fighting against the want to nibble on his jawline. That was one hell of a jawline tho.

“You have spirit.” Elijah smiled at her and grabbed her arm gently as he started to walk out. “We have a long journey ahead of us, we should be going.”

“Can we go to Disneyland on the way?” Elena asked hopefully. “I've always wanted to go.”

“One last piece of business and we’re done.” Elijah let go of Elena’s arm and walked over to Trevor.

“I've waited so long for this day, Elijah.” Trevor mumbled. “I'm truly, very sorry.”

“Oh no, your apology is not necessary.” Elijah told him.

“Yes, yes, it is.” Trevor said. “You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you.”

“Yes, you are the guilty one and Rose aided you because she was loyal to you and that I honor.” Elijah informed him. “But where was your loyalty?”

“I beg your forgiveness.” Trevor looked at Elijah pleadingly.

“Granted.” Elijah said.

Trevor smiled in relief but it was shot lived as Elijah smacks Trevor’s head clean off his shoulders.

“So that is what people mean when they say they’ll smack you face off.” Elena hummed. “Cool.”

“You…” Rose started to cry.

“Don’t, Rose, now you are free.” Elijah told her pleasantly then he turned towards Elena. “Come.”

“Oki doki.” Elena walked over to him. “Do you think we could stop for a change of clothes? My feet are killing me.”

“I think you look stunning in that dress.” Elijah smiled at her and offered his arm, when she gladly took it, he looked a little shocked but continued, “You are very different from most people.”

“Who would like to be like everybody else?” Elena chuckled.

“And about your feet, you could just take off your shoes in the car.” Elijah led her towards the front door.

“Fine, but I'm putting my feet on the dashboard.” Elena told him. “By the way, don’t we need the moonstone?”

“What do you know about the moonstone?” Elijah stopped and looked at Elena.

“I know that you need it and I know where it is.” Elena shrugged like it was no big deal.

“Yes?” Elijah coaxed.

“I can help you get it.” Elena hummed softly as she looked at him.

“Tell me where it is.” Elijah ordered her.

“Doesn’t really work like that, sweets.” Elena smiled at him.

“Are you negotiating with me?” Elijah looked perplexed and amused as he turned towards Rose.

“It’s the first I've heard of it.” Rose defended herself.

“Where is the moonstone?” Elijah tried to compel her but it didn’t work.

Elijah looked down and saw Elenas vervain armband and ripped it off.

“Hey!” Elena glared. “A very dear friend gave that to me.”

“Tell me where the moonstone is.” Elijah compelled her again.

Elena could feel the words trying to come out of her mouth. “In the tomb, underneath the church ruins.”

“What’s it doing there?” Elijah asked softly.

“It’s with Kathrine.” Elan admitted.

“Interesting.” Elijah hummed.

“I knew I should just have kept it in my bra.” Elena grumbled annoyed at herself.

“You kept the moonstone in your bra?” Elijah asked without compulsion and a raised eyebrow.

“That was the one place no one would ever look.” Elena smirked with a shrug.

“That is actually very smart.” Elijah smiled at her.

“Compelling me was just plane rude.” Elena pouted. “But I guess I should thank you for compelling instead of torture.”

“What was that?” Elijah asked as they all heard glass break on the upper floor.

“I don’t know.” Rose answered.

“Who else is in this house?” Elijah glared at Rose.

“I don’t know.” Rose repeated.

Elijah quickly grabbed Elena and walked into another part of the house. Damon and Stefan are moving around them at vamp-sped and Elijah throws Elena into Rose’s arms.

“Rose.” Elijah growled.

“I don’t know who it is.” Rose denied.

“Up here.” Stefan’s voice sounded from the upper floor.

Elijah vamp-sped up the stairs.

“Down here.” Damons voice came from downstairs.

Elijah started to walk down the stairs again. He suddenly received a stake through one of his hands which he quickly removed. Then Elena was standing with Stefan on the upper floor as he gestured for her to be quiet.

“Excuse me.” Elijah called out, still being polite even as he broke off a piece of the banister to use as a stake. “To whom it may concern, you're making a great mistake if you think you can beat me, you can’t. do you hear that?”

Elijah slowly walked down the stairs, calm as could be. “I repeat, you can not beat me. I want the girl and I'm going to count to three or heads will roll. Do we understand each other?”

“I’ll come with you.” Elena said as she stepped out on the stairs. “Just leave my friends alone and unhurt, they just wanted to help me out.”

“What games are you playing with me?” Elijah demands to know as he rushed up to her.

“I'm not playing any games.” Elena looked at him. “I just want my friends safe.”

Before either of them can react, Stefan shot Elijah with the compressed air weapon. It doesn’t hurt Elijah at all so Stefan tackled him down the stairs. Elijah got up immediately while Stefan stayed down.

Elijah brushed dust from his suit as he approached Stefan but Damon appeared and staked Elijah while pushing him up against the door. Elijah slowly turned gray and desiccated before their eyes.

Rose ran off as soon as she saw Elijah die and when Damon tried to run after her Elena stopped him, “Just let her go.”

“Are you okay?” Damon asked her at the same time as Stefan asked. “Are you unhurt?”

“I'm fine.” Elena smiled at them. “Thank you for coming for me.”

“Anytime.” Damon told her as Stefan nodded in agreement.

“Can we go home now?” Elena asked hopefully.

“Sure, we can.” Stefan chuckled.

Several hours later Elena walked out of her bathroom into her bedroom, newly showered and in only a tank top and panties, to see Damon standing there.

“Cute PJ’s” Damon smirked.

“Thank you.” Elena chuckled.

“I brought you this.” Damon held out her armband.

“Thank you, I thought I was gone forever.” Elena beamed at him and reached out to take it but looked confused when he pulled it away from her.

“I need to tell you something first.” Damon said.

“Why do you have to say it with my armband?” Elena looked at him.

“Well because what I'm about to say is…” Damon shrugged. “Probably the most selfish thing I have ever said in my entire life.”

“What are you on about?” Elena looked very confused.

“I just need to say it once.” Damon looked her deep in the eyes. “I love you, Elena and it’s because I love you that… I can’t be selfish with you. I don’t deserve you and it is wrong of me to peruse you when I know you don’t feel the same.”

“Damon…” Elena started to say but was interrupted by Damon kissing her softly.

“God, I wish you didn’t have to forget about this.” Damon murmured as he shed a tear then he compelled her to forget the conversation and that he had been in her room.

Elena opened her eyes, not really knowing when she closed them, and saw that she was alone in her room. She remembered that Damon had been there, that he gave her armband back but she didn’t remember what they talked about, which was odd.

She slowly made her way to the bed and shut off the lights. It had been a weird couple of days and she needed to sleep.

**A/N: I know, this was a short chapter, I'm sorry :(**

**I hope you liked it even though it was short.**

**Paring tally at the moment:**

**Damon/Jeremy: 4**

**Damon/Rose: 14**

**Damon/Enzo: 22**

**Damon/Enzo/Jeremy: 1**

**Damon/Kol: 3**

**Damon/Rebekah: 1**

**Damon/Mason: 4**

**Damon/Jeremy/Kol: 2**

**Jeremy/Tyler: 3**

**Jeremy/Kol: 16**

**Jeremy/Davina: 3**

**Jeremy/Kol/Davina: 2**

**Jeremy/Rebekah: 1**

**Jeremy/Caroline: 1**

**Stefan/Rebekah: 2**

**Stefan/Caroline: 1**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	17. Sacrifice the Katerina

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

The next day Elena made her way to the boarding house after being summoned by Damon and Stefan. She had spent the morning on the phone with Caroline and Tyler as her and Caroline tried their best to calm Tyler down and explain everything to him.

Elena had told Caroline to tell Tyler everything that had happened since the beginning and then bring him to the boarding house where he could ask questions and then they would call Mason too, so Tyler could get a more indebt explanation about werewolves.

So here Elena was, wearing pastel pink skinny jeans, a white top, blue button up, sneakers and hair up in a messy pony tail, as she walked into the boarding house without knocking. She walked straight up to the alcohol table where Damon held out a glass of bourbon towards her.

“Good morning, Sunflower.” Damon smirked at her.

“Good mor….” Elena stopped and looked at him. “Sunflower?”

“I'm trying to find a fitting nickname for you.” Damon hummed. “Sunflower didn’t really work as I wanted it to.”

“Hey, Elena.” Stefan smiled at her as he come in. “How are you feeling after yesterday?”

“I'm fine.” Elena shrugged with a smile. “I'm just very happy to be able to walk in sneakers for a while, my feet aches.”

“Well, you did spend several hours in 7-inch heels so…” Damon smirked at her to which she responded with sticking out her tongue at him.

“So, what is all this about?” Elena sked as she looked between Damon and Stefan.

“About that…” Stefan said but quieted as Rose walked into the room.

“Good morning.” Elena smiled kindly at Rose who looked shocked. “How are you feeling after yesterday?”

“You’re not going to try and kill her?” Stefan asked slowly.

“Why would I?” Elena looked at him.

“Well, she basically kidnapped you.” Stefan looked slightly confused.

“Yeah and she also lost her best friend and brother, I think I can cut her some slack.” Elena shrugged.

“I really need to stop expecting that you will react like a normal, sane, person.” Stefan muttered quietly.

“So how can we help you?” Elena turned to Rose while sipping her bourbon.

“Okay, you need to understand that I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don’t know what’s true and what's not.” Rose told them as she sat down on the couch. “That’s the problem with all this vampire crap. But Klaus? I know he’s real.”

“Wait… Santa is real?!” Elena asked wide eyed.

“Not that Klaus you dumb ass.” Damon laughed loudly.

“How should I know?” Elena looked at him. “I mean there’re already vampire, werewolves and witches, Santa Claus wouldn’t fucking surprise me.”

“The Klaus we are talking about is one of the originals, he’s a legend.” Damon chuckled.

“So’s Santa.” Elena grumbled.

“From the first generation of vampires, Elena.” Stefan smiled at her.

“Like Elijah?” Elena looked between the three vampires.

“No, Elijah was the Easter Bunny compared to Klaus.” Rose admitted. “He’s a foot soldier, Klaus is the real deal.”

“Klaus is known as the oldest.” Stefan said softly.

‘Wasn’t Klaus the middle child?’ Elena thought but out loud she asked. “So, what you are saying is that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?”

“Yes.” Rose said at the same time as Stefan said. “No.”

“What they're saying is…” Damon took a sip of his bourbon. “I mean if what she's saying is true…”

“Which it is.” Rose interrupted.

“And you're not just saying that so I don’t kill you.” Damon looked at Rose.

“Which I'm not.” Rose looked back.

“Then were looking at a solid maybe.” Damon turned back to Elena.

“Cool.” Elena nodded.

“Look, Elijah’s dead, right?” Stefan spoke up. “So, no one else even knows you exist.”

“Not that you know of.” Rose pointed out.

“That’s…that’s really not helpful.” Damon glared slightly.

“I've never even met anyone who’s laid eyes on him.” Stefan insisted. “I mean, we’re talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don’t know if he's real, for all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bed time story.”

“He's real and he doesn’t give up.” Rose maintained. “If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you are an idiot.”

“Alright, we’re shaking.” Damon said. “You made your point.”

Elena pulled out her phone and put in a number and when Stefan asked what she was doing she just put up her finger.

_“Hello?”_ Pearl answered after a couple of signals.

“Hey Pearl.” Elena smiled. “How’s the traveling?”

_“Elena, so nice to hear from you.”_ Pearl had a smile in her voice. _“The traveling has been amazing. There are so many things to see.”_

“I'm glad that you are enjoying yourself.” Elena hummed. “I just had a question that I hoped you could answer?”

_“Ask it and I shall do my best to answer.”_ Pearl said.

“Have you ever heard of Klaus?” Elena asked slowly.

_“You’ve been found out as a doppelgänger, haven't you?”_ Pearl asked somnolently.

“So, you have heard of him.” Elena stated with a nodded.

_“What I've heard are mostly bits and pieces from Kathrine.”_ Pearl told them. _“I know that he is the reason she was on the run, that he was obsessed with finding a doppelgänger and that she feared him above all others.”_

“Did she ever tell you why she was scared of him or why he wanted a doppelgänger?” Elena wanted to know.

_“No, I'm sorry.”_ Pearl sounded regretful. _“Do you want us to come back and help?”_

“Nah, we’ll handle it and if it gets to much we’ll call.” Elena reassured. “You guys just have fun traveling the world and say hello to Anna and Harper from me.”

_“If you're sure.”_ Pearl hesitantly said. _“Take care, Elena.”_

“Likewise.” Elena smiled as she hung up then she turned to the other in the room. “Now we know he's real, at least.”

“You're planning on talking to Kathrine later, aren’t you?” Damon looked at Elena.

“Haven't decided yet.” Elena said just as the doorbell rang. “That should be Caroline and Tyler.”

Stefan went to let them in while Elena refilled her glass. As she stood by the drink table, she felt eyes on her and as she looked up, she saw Rose observing her. Elena lifted a glass and silently aske if Rose wanted some.

“Thank you.” Rose murmured when Elena gave her the glass.

“You're welcome.” Elena smiled and then as Caroline and Tyler walked in with Stefan, she introduced them. “Rose, this is Tyler the good doggo and Caroline the blond bombshell, Caroline, Tyler, this is Rose the hirudinean.”

“Nice to meet you.” Caroline smiled brightly as she shook Rose’s hand, then she explained to a confused looking Tyler and Rose. “Elena has started to give everyone in this group nicknames, you already heard yours but Stefan and Damon are the resident leeches, Bonnie is the hag, Jeremy is baby hunter and Elena calls herself the crazy mascot.”

“Right,” Tyler mumbled. “What do you call Mason?”

“The puppy.” Elena beamed. “So has Caroline told you everything that has been going on?”

“Yeah but it’s a lot to processes.” Tyler admitted.

“Would it help if you could talk to Mason?” Elena asked kindly.

“Maybe.” Tyler looked thoughtful. “I think so yeah.”

“Did Caroline tell you that because you aren’t keyed to the pendent, he won’t look like himself?” Elena led Tyler into an office where a computer was set up.

“She did explain that, she also explained that you faked his murder to save his life.” Tyler smiled gratefully at her.

“That we did. I actually think Damon had a lot of fun at pretending to kill him.” Elena smiled as she video called Mason from the computer.

“Alpha.” Mason greeted as soon as the video call connected.

“Isn't that joke getting old by now?” Elena groaned.

“Nope, and it’s not a joke.” Mason chuckled then he became serious when he saw Tyler. “Tyler? What's going on?”

“Uncle Mason?” Tyler asked hesitantly.

“Yeah it’s me, kiddo.” Mason reassured. “Even though I don’t look the same.”

“I’ll leave you two to talk.” Elena patted Tyler on the shoulder and walked out.

Elena walked to the parlor to see that it was devoid of all but Rose who was crying on the couch.

Elena walked over and sat down beside her as she pulled Rose into a hug. “Shh, it’ll be okay, you'll see.”

“Thank you.” Rose pulled back after a few minutes. “But I have to ask; why are you being so nice to me?”

“Because I can understand why you did what you did.” Elena smiled gently with a half shrug. “Trevor was your family and if there is something I understand, it’s doing whatever you can to keep your family safe.”

“You really aren’t anything like Katerina.” Rose murmured. “She would sacrifice anyone and anything to save herself.”

Before Elena could say anything else, Damon walked into the parlor, “All right, Rosebud, I need some answers.”

“The sky is blue, the meaning of life is to give life a meaning or 42 depending on who you ask and it is fully possible to sky dive without a parachute, but only once.” Elena smirked.

“Seriously, Elena?” Damon mock glared at her.

“What?” Elena asked with a pouted while Rose laughed. “You said you wanted some answers, next time be more specific.”

“All right, fine. Rose, how do I find Klaus?” Damon smirked. “That specific enough for you, Alpha?”

“It’ll do.” Elena sniffed with her nose in the air.

“You don’t find Klaus.” Rose looked at Damon. “He finds you.”

“Come on.” Damon groaned. “Somebody’s got to know somebody who knows where he is, right?”

“Add another two hundred somebodies to that and you're still not even close.” Rose sighed.

“Just humor me, okay?” Damon almost pleaded with her. “You got in touch with Elijah. How did you do that?”

“Through somebody very low on the totem pole.” Rose told him. “A guy named Slater in Richmond.”

“Perfect, I’ll drive.” Damon smirked and started to leave.

“You forget that not all of us can walk in the sun.” Rose said.

“First of; I'm coming to.” Elena informed them. “And second; when we get back, I can ask Bonnie to make you some daylight bling.”

“Elena…” Damon started but stopped at the look he was getting from her.

“You would do that?” Rose asked hopefully.

“Of course, darling.” Elena smiled at her.

XOXOXOX

Rose parked the car in an underground parking lot when they arrived in Richmond. Elena and Rose had been bonding during the car ride by singing along to the music and talking about everything and anything with Damon piping in every now and then.

“Back entrance.” Damon hummed as they stepped out of the car. “How convenient.”

“That’s the point.” Rose looked at him. “Not all vampires have little daylight rings.”

“But you’ll have one when we get back.” Elena smiled at her then she got a calculating look on her face. “Do you think Bonnie could make a business out of selling daylight jewelry to vampires?”

“I can guarantee that she would have a lot of customers that would be willingly to pay a lot of money.” Rose told her.

“Something to bring up to her then.” Elena nodded.

“How do we know if this Slater guy is even here?” Damon asked as they made their way up the stairs to the coffee shop.

“I called him, he's here.” Rose assured. “He's always here.”

“Good, because if you are setting us up, there will be hell to pay.” Damon smirked. “And I’ll enjoy sitting back and watch as Elena tortures you for endangering her friend.”

“Elena?” Rose looked shocked.

“I've always wanted to know how long it will take for a vampire to regrow their skin if you flayed them.” Elena smiled brightly at her.

Rose turned towards Damon and said quietly, “Remind me to never piss her off, yeah?”

As they walked out into the café Damon grabbed Rose’s arm before she could walk into the sunlight. “Whoa, what about the sunlight?”

“Double paned and tempered glass, UV rays can’t penetrate.” Rose smiled as she led them further into the café. “You see the appeal now?”

“That and the free Wi-Fi.” A man joined them.

“Hey, how are you?” Rose pulled the man, obviously Slater, into a hug.

“Good.” Slater looked at Rose. “I saw you coming, what are you doing here?”

“Mmm, it’s a long story but I want you to meet…” Rose started but was interrupted by Slater.

“Damon Salvatore, turned 1864 in Mystic Falls by Kathrine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova.” Slater said as he looked at Damon, then he turned back to Rose. “So, I take it I was right, what I told you about the tomb under the church, was true?”

“Yes, it was right.” Rose nodded. “Thank you for the tip.”

“It’s nice to meet you, maybe.” Slater looked at Damon again.

“Did I become invisible or something?” Elena asked when no one made any indication to introduce her.

“Oh my God.” Slater gasped as he turned to her, then he turned wide eyed to Rose. “You brought Kathrine with you?”

“That’s not Kathrine.” Rose smiled slightly as she walked over to Elena. “This is Elena, she's human.”

“You are a doppelgänger.” Slater breathed out in awe.

“So, they tell me.” Elena shrugged slightly.

“Rose, what is going on?” Slater asked. “And where’s Trevor?”

The four of them had made their way over to a table by the windows as Rose told Slater what had happen to Trevor.

“And you're sure that Elijah’s dead?” Slater asked.

“Beyond dead.” Damon assured him while Elena thought ‘Yeah not really.’

“Trevor was a good man; he helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the Baroque period.” Trevor looked sad. “I was schooling for my Psych PhD.”

“Slater’s been in college since ’74.” Rose told them.

“When I was turned.” Slater shrugged, then he looked a little proud. “I have 18 degrees, 3 master’s and 4 PhDs.”

“Good job.” Elena smiled brightly at him. “I'm proud of you.”

“Thank you.” Slater smiled back at her, but the look of awe in his eyes said that not many people had said that to him.

“Hey Slater, you are in contact with a lot of vampires, right?” Elena asked slowly.

“Yeah, why?” Slater looked at her.

“Well, me and one of my best friends might be starting a business soon and we’ll need to get the message out to the vampire world.” Elena told him.

“Why?” Slater tilted his head to the side.

“The business she's talking about is selling daylight rings.” Rose explained. “Her friend is a witch.”

“Really?” Slater looked wide eyed at Elena.

“Nothing decided yet.” Elena shrugged.

“If you get me a daylight ring, I’ll be your middle man between you and all the vampires.” Slater swore.

“Sound good.” Elena smiled at him. “I’ll just steal your number from Rose.”

“Slater, the reason we’re here is because we need your help.” Rose spoke up. “If someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you hook him up?”

“Craigslist.” Slater answered simply.

“Really?” Damon huffed.

“Seriously.” Slater nodded. “I respond to a personal ad to het sent to somebody who knows Elijah, who’s dead, and that’s where my connection ends.”

“Here’s what I don’t get: Elijah moved around during the day, which means the originals knew the secret of the daylight ring.” Damon observed. “Now why would Klaus want to break the curse of the sun and the moon.”

“To keep the werewolves from lifting it.” Slater explained. “If a vampire breaks the sun curse then werewolves are stuck with the curse of the moon forever and vice versa.”

“But werewolves are extinct.” Rose said.

“True.” Slater nodded. “I've never seen one but rumor has it…!”

“The rumors aren’t rumors.” Elena piped up. “Rose met a werewolf earlier today.”

“I did?” Rose looked at Elena.

“Tyler.” Damon smirked at Rose. “Why do you think Elena called him ‘the good doggo’ and his uncle ‘the puppy’?”

“Mystic Falls?” Slater looked between the other three. “God, I've got to visit this place. It sounds awesome.”

“You can stay at my place if you ever visit.” Elena smiled.

“Elena, are you just going to keep inviting vampires into your house?” Damon asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not vampires in general just vampires I like.” Elena smiled innocently.

“Can we stop the curse from being broken at all?” Damon turned to Slater.

“What do you mean?” Salter looked confused.

“Well, if we make the moonstone useless, would it stop the curse from being broken?” Damon asked.

Elena looked at him, they both knew that the sun and the moon curse was most likely a lie so why was Damon talking about it like he believed it. At the look Damon sent her she finally figured out what he was doing, they didn’t know who was listening in so he was misleading them!

“Well, yeah, probably, but why would you want to do that?” Slater wondered.

“Tell me how.” Damon ordered.

“You think I'm going to help you figure out how to do something that will piss off an original?” Slater chuckled like it was a big joke.

“Damon, if anyone finds out that Slater helped us with this and it gets back to Klaus, Slater’s life is probably forfeit.” Elena said sadly, she usually didn’t care about people that weren’t close friends but she didn’t want Rose, who was becoming a friend, to lose someone else after she so recently lost Trevor. “I am not going to ask Slater to risk his life for this”

Suddenly all the windows exploded inwards. Slater and Rose started to scream as their skin began to burn. Elena helped Slater into a shaded placed, “Get out of here and call us when you are safe.”

“What about you guys?” Slater looked at her.

“We’ll be fine.” Elena assured him. “Be safe.”

“Thank you.” Slater hugged her quickly and left.

Back in front of the widows Damon covered Rose with his jacket and together with Elena helped her out of the back of the coffee chop.

Damon lifted Rose into his arms as he carried her to the car and put her in the back seat. “You're gonna be okay.”

“I know.” Rose tried to smile but it came out more of a grimace. “Elena, are you okay?”

“I'm fine, just some cuts.” Elena reassured her.

“Who was behind that?” Damon asked worried.

“I don’t know.” Rose murmured. “Where’s Slater?”

“Iowa by now.” Damon glared at nothing. “Who the hell knows.”

“I helped him get away.” Elena smiled at Rose.

“Slater is not behind this, he’s a good guy.” Rose told Damon even as she nodded at Elena in thanks. “He would never betray me.”

“Who did this then?” Damon wanted to know.

“It’s Klaus, don’t you understand?” Rose sounded scared as she started to cry. “You don’t know this man, we’re dead, we’re all dead!”

XOXOXOX

A few hours later Elena made her way into the boarding house. The first thing Elena had done as she came back to Mystic Falls was to go and talk to Kathrine, who just confirmed what Elena already knew.

“Elena, are you okay?” Damon asked as she walked into the parlor of the boarding house.

Damon and Rose where curled together under a blanket in front of the fire place, both of them in only their underwear.

“Physically I'm fine.” Elena murmured. “But emotionally…”

“You can talk to us.” Damon told her gently.

“I wanted to know the truth and I got it.” Elena felt tears gather in her eyes and did her best not to let them fall. “It’s not just me that’s in danger. It’s Caroline and Tyler and Bonnie too. They're all part of breaking the curse and it’s all because of me.”

“Hey, hey, it’s not your fault.” Damon pulled her into a hug, ignoring his half nakedness.

“We are not letting anyone of our pack die.” Elena declared fiercely.

“Of course not.” Damon agreed.

“Are you with us, Rose?” Elena looked at the vampiress.

“As long as you’ll have me.” Rose said after thinking about it for a few minutes.

“Welcome to the pack.” Elena hugged her.

“Thanks.” Rose chuckled as she hugged back even if she felt a little uncomfortable in just a blanket and her underwear.

The three of them spent some time talking in front od the fire place. Damon and Rose back under the blanket while Elena were sitting crossed legged in front of the couch with her back against it.

“Did you know that the ‘switch’ doesn’t actually exist?” Rose told them. “Sure, it does when you're a newbie but after a couple of hundred years…you just have to pretend.”

“What if you never turned it back on?” Elena asked. “Would that mean that your emotion was gone forever?”

Rose opened her mouth to answer when her phone rang.

“Hello?” Rose answered then she smiled and put the phone on speaker. “Slater? Are you alright?”

“Yes, I laid low for a while after Elena helped me get out of the sun.” Slater told them. “Sorry for bailing but I was freaked.”

“I'm sorry we involved you.” Rose apologized softly.

“Look, I want no part in the whole sun and moon curse business.” Slater said. “But I did some digging.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” Elena hummed softly. “Thank you.”

“What did you find?” Rose wanted to know.

“You can destroy the curse but you need the moonstone.” Slater explained.

Elena felt like there was something she was missing, something she was forgetting even as Rose asked, “How? What do you mean? I don’t follow.”

“Can your friends get the moonstone?” Slater asked. “Because you’ll need it.”

“Yes, they can get it.” Rose said as she saw Elena and Damon nod. “What next?”

“Get the moonstone to a witch and they should be able to figure out the rest.” Skater said and hung up.

“See? Not everything is as hopeless as it seems.” Damon smirked.

Elena smiled at him and got up from the floor. “I'm going to go home and get some sleep. I wish both of you a…pleasant night.” She gave a smirking leer as she left.

When she got home, she quickly made herself ready for bed and crawled in under her blankets, still feeling like she was forgetting something but decided to worry about it some other day.

XOXOXOX

Elene didn’t know how long she had been asleep when she woke up to an unknown noise. At first, she tried to fall back asleep but jolted out of bed when she heard a door slamming closed. She carefully walked across her room towards the door and opened it as quietly as possible as she walked out into the hallway.

As Elena approaches Jeremy’s room, she looked around for anything suspicious, as she looked into Jeremy’s room, she heard a noise behind her. Gasping Elena whirled around and crouched down into one of the fighting stances Damon had taught her.

Elena straightened out of the fighting stance when she saw a startled boxer clad Alaric looking back at her.

“Elena.” Alaric mumbled embarrassed as he lowered the ice cream bowl he was carrying towards his nether region.

“I heard something.” Elena told him in explanation with a smirk, trying her best not to laugh.

“That was us, I'm sorry.” Jenna walked up the stairs wearing Alaric’s shirt and running a hand through her hair.

“We didn’t think anyone was up.” Alaric said slowly.

“You mean except you?” Elena smirked and raised an eyebrow at where he was holding the ice cream bowl.

“Elena!” Alaric went bright red in the face.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Alaric.” Elena chuckled as she looked him up and down. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“And think about the silver lining.” Jenna piped up, knowing Elena was just messing with Alaric. “Now you and Elena are even.”

“Even?” Alaric looked between Jenna and Elena.

“You have seen her in her underwear and now she has seen you in yours.” Jenna started to laugh. “That’s only fair, right?”

“Absolutely.” Elena smiled brightly.

“I'm just going to…go.” Alaric walked past Elena into Jenna's bedroom.

“I'm sorry if we woke you.” Jenna smiled at Elena.

“It’s okay.” Elena reassured with a giggle.

“See you tomorrow.” Jenna said as they made their way to their respective bedrooms.

“Have fun.” Elena smirked and closed her bedroom door.

She walked over to her bed and crawled under the warm blankets, turned on her side and curled up as she slowly fell asleep.

XOXOXOX

Elena is about to eat breakfast or rather lunch if you looked at the time, when there is a knock on the door. She sighed and looked sadly at her sandwich as she got up to open the door.

“Hey Elena.” Stefan smiled at her as Damon nodded in greeting. “Can we talk?”

“Sure, but you’ll have to come in because I'm very hungry and have a sandwich with my name on it in the kitchen.” Elena walked back into the kitchen, not even looking if Damon and Stefan followed her. “There are blood bags in the fridge if you want some.”

“Thanks.” Damon smiled as he pulled out a glass to pour the blood in.

“So, what can I help you with this morning?” Elena took a bite for her sandwich as she looked at the Salvatore brothers.

“We went to see Kathrine.” Damon told her as he sat down opposite her at the breakfast bar.

“Why?” Elena asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, we need the moonstone and Kathrine has it with her in the tomb.” Stefan shrugged.

“You don’t believe her, do you?” Elena asked as Stefan finished telling her what had happened when he and Damon talked to Kathrine.

“No, of course not.” Damon shook his head. “We just want the moonstone.”

“Didn’t we already agree that the whole sun and moon curse is a lie?” Elena looked at them.

“We might now that but others don’t and they’ll try and use you as a sacrifice.” Stefan told her.

“So how do we destroy it?” Elena wanted to know as she finished her sandwich.

“By releasing it from the moonstone.” Stefan hummed.

“And how do we know that it will work?” Elena wondered.

“Our crafty hag has agreed to do anything she could to help.” Damon smirked.

Elena sat quietly for a while. She had already decided to actually willingly be apart of the sacrifice to help Klaus become whole again but she couldn’t just say that to them. And later when they found out what was really going on, she knew they wouldn’t accept her choice.

“Kathrine won’t just give up the moonstone.” Elena pointed out.

“We’ll just have to pry it from her cold dead hands if she refuses to give it up.” Damon declared darkly.

“Sounds like you guys already have a plan.” Elena hummed.

“Yup, we are awesome.” Damon fist bumped a chuckling Stefan.

“Except for one thing.” Elena sighed and got up, putting her glass in the dishwasher. “I don’t want you to do it.”

“What?” Damon and Stefan chorused.

“You seem to have forgotten all about Klaus.” Elena looked at them.

“We’ll find him right after we get the moonstone.” Stefan promised.

“Is that before or after he kills everyone I care about, including the two of you?” Elena challenged them with a look.

“Elena, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life.” Stefan said desperately.

“I don’t want to be saved if it means endangering my family and our pack.” Elena glared at them and walked away.

XOXOXOX

Around an hour later Elena walked into the boarding house and closed the door softly behind her. She had decided to go very casual today and wore blue jeans, dark blue top, a blue and black button up and blue converse. Yeah, she had a theme going on.

“It’s not nice to leave a girl naked so early in the morning.” Rose reprimanded as she walked down the stairs while tying a silk robe around her.

“Agreed.” Elena chuckled. “Especially a gorgeous one like you.”

“Whoa, sorry.” Rose stuttered out. “I thought you were Damon.”

“No, really?” Elena asked sarcastically with a laugh. “I did tell you two to have a pleasant evening when I left yesterday and from the looks of it, you did.”

“Oh, we did,” Rose smirked back. “We really did.”

“You go girl!” Elena held up her hand for a high five, which Rose granted with a laugh.

“So, what did you come here for?” Rose asked. “If you are looking for Damon or Stefan they're not here.”

“I actually came to talk to you.” Elena smiled.

“In that case I should probably get dressed.” Rose laughed and looked down on herself.

“Only if you want.” Elena winked. “I’ll wait in the parlor where the bourbon is.”

Elena walked in to the parlor and poured herself a glass of bourbon as she waited for Rose to come back. She had had a lot of time to think as she walked to pick up Rose’s daylight jewelry at Bonnies and then on her way to the boarding house and she felt calm in her decisions.

“So, what can I help you with?” Rose asked as she walked into the parlor.

“First of,” Elena pulled out a beautiful silver necklace that looked like a lotus flower with the _lapis lazuli_ in the middle. “I hope you are okay with being a necklace instead of a ring.”

“Oh, it’s beautiful.” Rose slowly took the necklace and put it on. “Thank you.”

“I’ll send your thanks to Bonnie later.” Elena smiled.

“She wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for you, so I'm thanking you to.” Rose pulled Elena into a hug. “What was the second thing?”

“I wanted to ask if you and me could go back and talk to Slater?” Elena asked softly.

“It’s a bad idea.” Rose said. “He doesn’t have any more information.”

“Maybe not, but I was thinking that he would want this.” Elena showed her a ring with a blue stone. It was made in an antique design where it looked like the _lapis lazuli_ was being held between the teeth of some predator.

“You’ve already talked to your witch friend about this?” Rose asked shocked at how fast everything went.

“I talked to her this morning before breakfast and she agreed that spelling some daylight jewelry for money and creating our own business wasn’t such as bad idea.” Elena chuckled as she put the ring back in her pocket. “The reason I wanted to go today was because I just need to get away for awhile and what better way than a road trip with a new friend?”

“Okay, but on one condition.” Rose smirked. “We do some shopping while we are in Richmond.”

“Deal!” Elena laughed brightly.

XOXOXOX

When they arrived in Richmond Rose decided to park in the sunniest spot she could find. As she stepped out of the car, she closed her eyes and just tilted her head up towards the sun.

“500 years of being stuck in darkness and thanks to you I can finally feel the sun on my face again.” Rose breathed out in awe as she turned to Elena. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“What are friends for.” Elena smiled linked her arm with Rose’s as they walked slowly towards Slater’s apartment.

“Slater?” Rose banged on the door to Slater’s apartment a few minutes later. “Slater it’s Rose and Elena, open up!”

“I guess he’s not home.” Rose looked a bit uncertain.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Elena told her friend.

Rose nodded in agreement and forced the door open while using her vampire strength. She walked in to the apartment slowly. “Come on.”

“Slater?” Elena called out as they made their way further into the apartment. “You home?”

“I don’t think he’s going to need that ring.” Rose said sadly as she looked into a room.

Elena quickly made her way to Rose and looked into the same room. On the floor with a stake through his chest was Slater, grey and desiccated in the final death.

“Patris morte, aeterna custodiet animam commodo sislunt frofectus.” Elena whispered as she placed a hand over Slater’s eyes. She didn’t know where the words came from or how she knew that they meant ‘ _Father Death, please watch over his eternal soul and guard him on his journey._ ’

“You know Latin?” Rose asked shocked.

“A little.” Elena shrugged. “I'm sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” Rose smiled slightly, then she picked up Slater’s desiccated body. “I will place him somewhere else; I’ll be right back.”

Elena walked over to Slater’s computer set up and started to look through a bunch of papers she saw lying there. When she heard Rose walk back in, she spoke up, “Looks like whoever blew up the coffee shop found him and killed him for the information he had.”

“Yeah, probably to stop him from helping people like us.” Rose came closer. “Slater was like a vampire almanac and knowing too much information just came back to bite him on the ass.”

“Did you know that for years I used to come here just to watch the day.” Rose walked over to the window. “Tempered glass here to, so the sun couldn’t hurt me.”

“I'm sorry you had to lose another friend.” Elena said sadly.

“Any luck?” Rose asked indicating that she didn’t want to talk about it.

“The computer is password protected.” Elena shrugged. “If Jeremy was with us, he could probably hack it but…”

Suddenly they heard a doorknob rattle from inside of the apartment. Rose was on high alert is seconds, “Stay here.”

Elena waited with baited breath as she put on her knuckle duster until Rose walked back in with a crying woman.

“Elena this is Alice, Alice Elena.” Rose introduced.

A few minutes later Elena is poring hot water into a teacup as Rose walked in from another room. “Is she done crying yet?”

“What, you don’t think she's distraught about losing ‘the love of her life’?” Rose raised an eyebrow.

“She's over playing it a bit.” Elena looked bored.

“Yeah, you're right and the tears aren’t even for Slater.” Rose informed her. “She was only dating him long enough to see if he’d turn her.”

“Really?” Elena looked thoughtful. “In that case I might have an idea.”

“Oh?” Rose hummed intrigued.

“Just play along, okay?” Elena smirked and walked over to Alice with the tea.

“Thank you.” Alice sniffled as she looked at Elena with an air of familiarity. “You look really familiar, did you know Slater?”

“I met him, yes.” Elena said. “We we’re about to become business partners and in that deal, he was supposed to, hopefully, point me towards Klaus.”

“Doubtful.” Alice told her. “Klaus doesn’t want to be pointed at.”

“Do you know Slater’s computer password?” Elena asked.

“Are you seriously asking me that right now?” Alice glared. “I just saw my boyfriend with a stake through his heart.”

“Oh please, just drop the act. You didn’t love him, you just wanted him to turn you.” Elena sneered at her. “And if you are really helpful, I might be able to convince Rose to turn you.”

“Really?” Alice asked hopefully.

Elena nodded seriously. “But you’ll have to show us Slater’s files first.”

Alice quickly got up and logged into Slater’s computer, but the files had been deleted. “Someone’s been here, the hard drive’s been completely wiped.”

“Probably by whoever killed him.” Elena muttered.

“Lucky for you, Slater was paranoid.” Alice informed them. “Everything’s backed up on a remote server.”

“You do know that she's not going anywhere near my blood, right?” Rose asked Elena quietly enough not to be heard by Alice.

“I know.” Elena smirked. “But she doesn’t.”

Elena leaned back down next to Alice to look at the computer screen as Rose smiled at her.

“Kristen Stewart.” Alice groaned. “God, was he obvious.”

“These are all leads to vampires?” Elena hummed.

“Slater was obsessed.” Alice told them as she scrolled through the files. “Almost as much as me.”

“What about that one? Cody Webber.” Rose pointed at the screen. “They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah.”

“I could call him.” Alice offered.

“Tell him we’re trying to send a message to Klaus.” Elena instructed as she held out her phone. “The doppelgänger is alive and she's ready to surrender.”

“What?!” Rose called out in shock.

“Oh, my God, I knew I recognized you.” Alice looked at her.

“Get him the message, please.” Elena said, then she made her way out of the room.

Elena placed her hands on a table and exhaled heavily as Rose entered the room.

“What are you doing?” Rose demanded to know.

“I'm getting Klaus attention.” Elena said simply.

“If Klaus knows that you are alive, he’ll find you and he’ll kill you.” Rose objected and then her face fell. “Which is what you want.”

“I have never feared death, Rose.” Elena smiled gently at her. “You should always greet him as an old friend. And if my death protects my family and our pack then I will gladly walk towards it with open arms.

“I don’t want you to die.” Rose whispered. “I've already lost to many friends in the last few days.”

“Oh Rose,” Elena placed a hand softly against Rose’s cheek. “Death is just another grand adventure.”

Before Rose could answer, Alice walked into the room and looked at Elena. “Cody is on his way and he _really_ wants to meet you.”

Elena smiled at her in thanks and walked over to the window. She feels calm about what she's doing; she's not just protecting her family and pack but also helping a man that has been forced to be half of himself for a millennium. The feeling of not being whole must be slowly driving Klaus insane and if she could help him, she would.

As she gazed out of the window, she suddenly saw Elijah’s reflection walk towards her and she quickly turned around. Elena frowned in confusion when she doesn’t see anyone in the room with her. She shook her head and turned back to the window.

Around forty minutes later Elena walked back into the main room while sipping a glass of water. She looked over at Alice, who was playing on her phone, then she turned around and gasped in shock.

“What are you doing here?” Damon, who had snuck up on her, asked as he looked her in the eye.

“What are _you_ doing here?” Elena shot back, then she turned and glared at Rose who walked back into the room. “You called him?”

“I'm sorry, Elena.” Rose looked at her. “But I don’t want you to die.”

“Damon Salvatore.” A starstruck Alice walked up to them.

“Get rid of her.” Damon told Rose.

“No…Way!” Alice still looked starstruck even as Rose dragged her away.

“Come one.” Damon said. “We’re leaving.”

“No.” Elena denied.

“I said we’re leaving.” Damon glared at her.

“Damon, you are one of my best friends and you are part of my family but I am not going with you.” Elena maintained seriously.

“You do not get to make decisions anymore.” Damon declared.

“The only person who has any right to make a decision about this is me.” Elena glared slightly at him.

“Who’s gonna save your life while you're out making decisions?” Damon mocked.

“I don’t want to be saved, Damon.” Elena told him gently but firmly. “This way I'm the only one who dies.”

“Get your ass out of the door before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out myself.” Damon growled at her.

“I said NO.” Elena tried to punch him but because he was the one to teach her, he easily caught her hand.

“Don’t ever do that again.” Damon glared and stormed off.

“Are you okay?” Rose walked over to Elena.

“Yeah, it’s just…” Elena trailed off.

“Just what?” Rose coaxed.

“I don’t want to hurt him or anyone else but I rather they hate me and be safe then me being alive and you all dead.” Elena murmured sadly.

“I'm not sorry that I called him.” Rose admitted. “You are my friend and pack,” Rose hesitated a little when she said ‘pack’. “and I don’t want to lose someone who I could come to see as a sister in the future.”

“Time to go!” Damon walked out of the bedroom. “Alice is sleeping soundly and won’t remember a moment of this horribly stupid day.”

Elena opened her mouth to say something but before she could the door flew open and three men walked into the apartment. Damon turned his head towards them as Elena pushed Rose behind her.

“We’re here to meet the doppelgänger.” One of the men, who Elena assumed was Cody, said.

“Thank you for coming.” Elena started to walk towards him but was stopped by Damon who grabbed ger arm as she walked past him.

“I will break your arm.” Damon hissed at Elena and then he turned towards Cody. “There is nothing for you here.”

The man who had stayed by the door suddenly dropped to the floor with Elijah standing behind him. When Cody and the other man turned towards him, he vamp-sped in front of them. Elijah then turned to look over at Elena and Damon. Elena felt Rose grasp her hand tightly in fear but she refused to leave.

“I killed you.” Damon gasped in surprise. “You were dead.”

“For centuries now.” Elijah informed him.

Elena snorted and started to giggle earning a smiled from Elijah.

“Who are you?” Elijah looked at the one Elena presumed to be Cody.

“Who are you?” Cody demanded to know.

“I'm Elijah.” Elijah said simply.

“We were gonna bring her to you. For Klaus.” Cody’s attitude changed quickly from cocky to subservient. “She’s the doppelgänger. I don’t know how she exists, but she does. Klaus will want to see her.”

“Does anyone know else know that you're here?” Elijah asked slowly.

“No.” Cody denied.

“Well, then, you have been incredibly helpful.” Elijah smiled and plunged his arms into the two vampires’ chests and with a grunt he ripped their hearts out.

As the two vampires fell dead to the floor and Elijah lets their hearts drop from his hands, Damon prepared to fight Elijah to protect Elena. Elijah shocked him by turning around and vamp-speeding out of the apartment.

“That was kinda hot.” Elena piped up, not knowing Elijah could still hear them and smirked.

“What?” Damon looked at her incredulously.

“It was.” Elena defended herself. “He didn’t even break a sweat! It made me go a little tingly.”

“You are the weirdest person I've ever met.” Rose said as she laughed in relief.

“Thank you.” Elena beamed back.

XOXOXOX

A few hours later Damon and Elena walked up the front steps of the Gilbert house. Rose was back at the boarding house, having driven her own car back while Damon took Elena in his.

“Thanks for the ride.” Elena sighed as she looked at Damon.

“It was only to make sure you wouldn’t do something stupid again.” Damon glared slightly at her.

“It wasn’t stupid.” Elena grumbled quietly, then louder she said, “I can’t believe Elijah’s alive.”

“If I had a dollar for every time some evil vampire surprised me.” Damon shrugged.

Elena walked towards the front door but Damon caught her arm before she can open it and turned her around to face him.

“What you did today was incredibly stupid.” Damon told her seriously.

“Actually, the only stupid thing was that you and Rose stopped me.” Elena glared at him as she pulled her arm back. “You and Stefan and Jeremy and everyone else tries so hard to save me. You really shouldn’t question why I would try to save all of you.”

Jeremy opened the front door and looked at them seriously.

“Jeremy?” Elena asked softly. “What is it?”

“It’s Stefan.” Jeremy said as he looked at Damon.

Elena and Damon quickly made their way to the tomb under Fell’s church. Elena cautiously approached the cave opening, “Stefan?”

Stefan slowly walked up to the entrance. “Damon, Elena.”

“Of all the idiot plans, Stefan.” Damon looked at him. “This one is almost as bad as Elenas.”

“My plan wasn’t bad!” Elena protested.

“You're right, your kamikaze plan wasn’t bad.” Damon glared at her. “It was fucking horrible.”

“Oh, get fucked, you troglodyte.” Elena huffed.

“Troglodyte?” Kathrine asked as she walked up.

“Don’t know where I've heard it but it sounded good.” Elena shrugged then she turned to Stefan. “Keep strong, we’ll find away to get you out and if she annoys you to much, break her neck.”

With those parting words Elena walked out of the tomb and made her way home. She needed a shower and then she needed sleep and maybe even a sandwich. Not necessarily in that order though.

**A/N: End of chapter!**

**Hope you all liked it :)**

**I was actually thinking about making Bonnie a lesbian but I have not really decided yet.**

**Damon will be with Enzo!**

**Jeremy might have a fling before he gets with Kol but the end paring is Jeremy/Kol!**

**The rest are still up in the air though.**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	18. By the Light of the Decending Moon

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

Elena and Bonnie were sitting in her room as Bonnie studied the moonstone. Elena looked at Bonnie with a frown, “What are you going to do with it now that you’ve got it?”

“I'm trying to figure out what is binding the Sun and the Moon Curse.” Bonnie explained. “If I can do that then I can start to figure out a way to remove the spell from the stone and the stone becomes useless.”

“And, according to Kathrine, Klaus becomes vengeful.” Elena added with a sigh.

“If he finds out.” Bonnie looked at her.

“Can’t this wait?” Elena asked. “We’ve got to help Stefan out from the tomb.”

“Stefan wants me to focus on this.” Bonnie said to her.

“And you're listening to him instead of me because you guys think you are protecting me.” Elena groaned.

“We’re not going to let you get used in some creepy sacrifice ritual.” Bonnie told her firmly.

“What are you guys arguing about?” Jeremy asked as he walked in.

“We are not arguing about anything.” Bonnie said as she stood up and left.

“What?” Elena sked as she saw Jeremy looking at her.

“Why are you so determined to die?” Jeremy asked quietly with pain in his eyes.

“Because if I die that’s one death.” Elena looked at him and smiled gently. “But if we try to prevent the sacrifice then who knows how many of you guys will die.”

“I don’t want to lose you, Lena.” Jeremy murmured and left.

Elena sat there for a while and thought about what to do, she could take the moonstone from Bonnies purse but if she remembered correctly that would result in her being trapped in her house all day.

Elena got dressed in a white flowy dress and her black combat boots and then she made her way down the stairs. She had her bike keys in her hand when Bonnie stopped her.

“Where are you going?” Bonnie asked.

“I was going to the boarding house to call Mason.” Elena said. “Apparently some woman named Jules came to the Lockwood mansion looking for him and I need to call before the puppy can chain himself up for the night.”

“I'm surprised.” Jeremy asked as he came down the stairs. “You didn’t take the moonstone.”

“I thought about it.” Elena admitted. “Did you know that Klaus killed Kathrine’s entire family just because she crossed him? I don’t want that to be you guys.”

“If you can spend most the day here and not leave then we will include you in the planning of how to prevent as many deaths as possible, deal?” Bonnie held out her hand to Elena to shake.

“Fine, it’s a deal.” Elena sighed and shook her hand, then she gave her keys to Jeremy. “This way you’ll know I can’t take my bike at least.”

“I'm also placing a spell on the house keyed to you,” Bonnie explained. “So, it will notify me if you leave.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll call Mason from here and then I’ll do…something.” Elena sighed as she watched Bonnie and Jeremy leave.

About three hours later Elena stepped back form her masterpiece. The cake was three stories high and looked like a galaxy had exploded into existence on it. She had started her baking marathon after she had talked to Mason and then called to warn everyone else in their pack about Jules.

Apparently, Mason was not a part of hers and Brady’s pack and never had been. While they had wanted Mason to join their pack he had refused when he noticed that they all liked to torture vampires for their own amusement and actually made sure to be close to people on the full moon so they could kill as many as possible.

Elena decided to have a long warm shower to unstress and wash away the flour and other baking ingredients. As she stepped out of the shower forty-five minutes later a cloud of steam accompanied her from the bathroom.

After putting on a pair of black booty shorts, thigh high sock and a crop top, she bounded down the stairs so she could make something to eat.

“What's going on?” Elena asked as she saw Jenna halfway inside the closet under the stairs. “Searching for Harry Potter?”

“Funny, but no.” Jenna chuckled and gave Elena a box.

“What is this stuff?” Elena looked at the box and the put it down on the floor with a shudder as she saw a spider crawling inside it.

“You're mom’s files from the Historical Society.” Jenna explained. “I got roped into helping Mrs. Lockwood and by roped, I mean very excited to participate.”

Elena turned wide eyed at Elijah as he became visible when Jenna closed the closet door.

“Hello, I'm Elijah.” Elijah walked over to her and grabbed her hand so he could kiss the back of it. “It’s a pleasure.”

“Elijah’s in town doing research on Mystic Falls.” Jenna smiled and made her way over to the stairs as she looked at Elijah. “I have another box upstairs; I’ll be right back.”

“A researcher?” Elena raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well, I had to say something.” Elijah smirked.

“You could have told her the truth.” Elena smiled at him.

“And have her call the nice young men in the clean white coats?” Elijah chuckled. “I think I’ll pass.”

“Oh, she wouldn’t have done that.” Elena told him. “She knows about the supernatural.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want her to know.” Elijah hummed. “And I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell her just yet.”

“Fine but when she does find out and is trying to strangle me for keeping secrets from her, I’ll just send her your way.” Elena smirked at him.

“Would you like to stay here and rummage through this stuff or would you like me and Elena to help you load it into your car.” Jenna asked as she came back from upstairs.

“Or I can have someone pick it up tomorrow.” Elijah started to make his way to the door.

“Also a good plan.” Jenna nodded.

“Thank you so much for inviting me into your home, Jenna.” Elijah nodded at her, then he turned towards Elena and smiled. “Elena, I hope to see you again sometime soon.”

“Likewise.” Elena smiled with a slight blush. What the heck was going on with her? Why did her insides feel all tingly?

Elena slowly made her way upstairs to tell Jeremy about Elijah but just as Jeremy opened the door to his room, Elijah grabbed her wrist and placed a finger against his lips.

“What is it?” Jeremy asked as he looked at her.

“I was just thinking about going to the boarding house and talking to Rose.” Elena lied quickly. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll call Bonnie and tell her to lower the spell.” Jeremy chuckled. “Love you, sister-mine.”

“I love you to, Jere-Bear.” Elena called out as he closed his door again.

“A wise choice.” Elijah murmured quietly to her.

“You never said that I couldn’t tell Jeremy.” Elena protested in a whisper.

“You are quite the crafty one.” Elijah looked slightly impressed. “I think it’s time for you and I to have a little chat.”

“Come on.” Elena led him over to her room and closed and locked the door, then she turned and smirked at Elijah. “Welcome to the inner sanctum.”

“Forgive the intrusion,” Elijah bowed his head at her. “I mean your family no harm.”

“Why did you kill those vampires when they came to take me to Klaus.” Elena looked at him.

“Because I didn’t want you to be taken. Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals, but those who fear him are desperate fir his approval.” Elijah explained as he looked around her room. “If word got out that the doppelgänger exists, there’ll be a line of vampires eager to take you to him and I can’t have that.”

“What is it with everyone trying to make my decisions for me?” Elena groaned and threw her hand up. “Aren't you supposed to be helping him or something?”

“Let’s just say that my goal is not to break the curse.” Elijah smiled at her.

“So, what is your goal?” Elena wondered.

“Klaus’s obsession had made him paranoid, he’s a recluse.” Elijah told her softly. “He trusts only those in his immediate circle.”

“And from the sound of it you are not part of that circle.” Elena hummed and when Elijah nodded in agreement she continued. “You're trying to use me to draw him out.”

“Yes, but to do that I need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed.” Elijah insisted with a serious look.

“And what makes me able to believe that you are telling me the truth?” Elena asked slowly.

“If I wasn’t being truthful, all your family would be dead and I’d be taking you to Klaus right now.” Elijah informed her with a raised eye brow. “Instead, I'm here and I'm prepared to offer you a deal.”

“What did you have in mind?” Elena wanted to know.

“Do nothing. Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting and then, when the time is right, you and I shall draw out Klaus together and I shall make sure your friends remain unharmed.” Elijah promised with determination.

“I’ll write you a list of people I want safe. If someone isn’t on that list I don’t really care if they live, die or get tortured into insanity.” Elena walked up to Elijah and started him straight in the eyes. “But if someone on my list gets hurt? I don’t give a flying monkeys ass who the fuck you are, I’ll find you and then I will finally find out how long it takes a flayed vampire to regrow their skin. Are we clear?!”

“I'm a man of my word, Elena.” Elijah shifted in an odd way and did his eyes look slightly darker? “I make a deal; I keep a deal.”

“So, how are you going to be able to keep everyone safe?” Elena backed away from him and sat down on her bed.

“I notice you have a friend; Bonnie, is it?” Elijah started to look around her room again. “She seems to possess the gift of magic. I have friends with similar gifts.”

“Luka.” Elena hummed. “And his father.”

“How did you know?” Elijah asked intrigued.

“Luka just so happens to show up, show an interest in Bonnie, have magic and then you show up a while later and you just happen to know witches?” Elena rolled her eyes. “It’s almost as obvious as a bright, neon colored, elephant in the middle of the town.”

“You are a very insightful young woman.” Elijah sounded impressed.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled.

“So, do we have a deal?” Elijah asked softly.

“I need you to do one more thing for me.” Elena said slowly.

“We’re negotiating now?” Elijah chuckled.

“Yes, because as you said, I'm insightful, which means that I did notice that while you promised to keep my friends and family safe, you never mentioned me.” Elena smirked. “And that’s completely fine with me _if_ you help me get one of my best friends out of the tomb under Fell’s church.”

“The one where Katerina and the moonstone are?” Elijah wanted to know.

“Both yes and no.” Elena murmured and at Elijahs look she continued. “Yes, Kathrine is it the tomb, no the moonstone is not there anymore.”

Elijah looked at her with a small smile, “Write your list and I’ll see what I can do about your friend stuck in the tomb.”

Elena grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and started to write down all of the people in her family and pack. As she wrote she started to wonder why she felt that tingle in her stomach when Elijah smiled at her. She decided to push it out of her mind, it was probably not important anyway…

XOXOXOX

The next morning Elena woke up after a not so restful rest. She had been plagued by nightmares of what would have happened if she hadn’t been able to save Rose.

After she had given the list of names to Elijah yesterday Elena had made her way to the boarding house to explain to Damon and Rose and later Stefan about the deal she had made with Elijah.

During her explanation Jules had jumped through the window in wolf from and attacked Damon and Rose, just like she had done in the tv show. Elena had taken a fire poker and swung it at hard as she could at the wolf before it could bite Rose and then Damon had stabbed it with a sword.

She had then spent the night at the boarding house, not wanting to leave Rose and Damon, she must have fallen asleep and either Damon or Rose must have carried her to Stefans bed because that’s where she woke up.

After having taken a shower and put on a flowy dark blue dress and her combat boots, that she had left at the boarding house at an earlier date, she walked back out into Stefans room.

“Stefan?” Elena called out as she walked into Stefan’s room. “You're standing behind me, aren't you?”

“Yep.” Stefan chuckled.

“Rude.” Elena laughed and hugged him. “I'm glad that you're out of the tomb.”

“Me too, but…” Stefan pulled back.

“You're gonna ruin my happy morning, aren't you?” Elena sighed.

“I'm totally ruining it.” Stefan nodded. “Look, I can’t just pretend like everything is okay.”

“But Kathrine is looked away in the tomb, the sun is shining and I'm feeling pretty good, why do you have to poop on my day.” Elena pouted even as she mocked glared at him.

“I know but we still have this pressing little issue of you being Klaus’s human sacrifice.” Stefan looked at her.

Elena walked over to one of Stefan’s drawers and removed a vial of liquid vervain. “Yes, but Elijah promised to keep the pack safe as long as we play by his rules.” Elena had some how gotten into the habit of calling her friends and family ‘The Pack’.

“Right,” Stefan hummed in annoyance. “As long as we play by his rules.”

“Please don’t go after Isobel.” Elena pleaded as she put the vervain in a glass.

“Kathrine said Isobel could have some answers and just have a couple of questions, that’s all.” Stefan shrugged.

Elena poured water in the glass and mixed the vervain out with it. “Stefan, I made a deal with Elijah.”

“You made a deal with him, not me.” Stefan told her. “You should keep your deal.”

“Stefan, I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.” Elena looked at him seriously.

“When have I ever wanted to get somebody hurt?” Stefan asked.

“Intentionally? Never.” Elena pointed out. “But what about unintentionally?”

“Elena…” Stefan sighed.

“Vervain. I made it light but are you sure?” Elena held out the glass to him. “Just because Kathrine built up a tolerance…”

“Bottoms up.” Stefan took the glass and downed it, then he fell to the floor coughing before he recovered and stood up.

“You okay?” Elena asked softly.

“Yeah.” Stefan coughed a little again. “It’s a necessary thing to do because Elijah can compel vampires. He’s an original and I don’t think anybody knows what that means, except maybe Isobel, which is why I'm going to ask her.”

“Can’t we just stake her and forget that she’s ever existed?” Elena grumbled as Stefan left.

Elena made her way down to the parlor where she saw Damon and Rose cuddling on the couch, she so shipped it.

“Good morning my dear vampire friends.” Elena beamed as she hugged them both.

“Good morning.” Rose smiled at her.

“Morning, Spitfire.” Damon smirked at her.

“Spitfire?” Elena hummed in question.

“Your new nickname.” Damon told her. “Where is Stefan?”

“The little numb nut is convinced that he has to find Isobel.” Elena groaned. “But I'm convinced that it will upset Elijah.”

“That’s not a bad idea, actually. “Damon smirked and got up from the couch.

“Seriously, you too?” Elena grumbled at him.

“See you later.” Damon waved at them as he left.

“Wanna go to Georgia with me and visit a witch?” Elena asked after a while.

“Sure.” Rose smirked and got up. “We taking Damon’s car, right?”

“Absolutely.” Elena laughed.

XOXOXOX

The whole trip to Bree’s Bar had been spent singing along to the radio, talking and laughing. Rose had truly enjoyed driving with the top down and the sun shining.

“Who is this witch anyway?” Rose asked as she parked the car.

“Her name is Bree and she is an old friend of Damon’s.” Elena stepped out of the car with a smile. “She’s also completely gorgeous.”

“Really now.” Rose laughed and then she followed Elena into the bar.

“Bree, my talk drink of chocolate, where are you?” Elena called out.

“Elena!” Bree quickly walked over and pulled Elena into a kiss.

“I’ve missed you Bree.” Elena smiled as they pulled back. “Texting just isn’t the same.”

“I've missed you too, honey.” Bree chuckled.

“Oh, Bree this is Rose, Rose this is Bree.” Elena introduced them to each other.

“Nice to meet you.” Rose held out her hand.

“Any friend of Elena’s is a friend of mine.” Bree smiled as she shook Rose’s hand.

They made it to the bar and ordered some hamburgers as Bree asked Rose several questions. Elena just smiled and listened, sometimes piping in with a few words here and there.

Around an hour and a half after they had arrived Elena’s phone rang and the caller ID said ‘Unknown Number’.

“Excuse me, I’ll just take this outside.” Elena smiled at Rose and Bree.

As Elena walked outside, she saw a bench a few paces away and went over to sit down as she answered her phone. For some reason she decided to answer in Latin, “Salute plurimam dictit. Si vales, bene est, ego valeo.” (Many greetings. If you're well, then that’s good, and I'm well too.)

“ _Salvete Elena._ ” Elijah said with an impressed voice from the other end. “ _Nesciebat ego locutus sum vobis Latine._ ” (Greetings Elena, I didn’t know you spoke Latin.)

It took a few seconds for Elena to translate and then she said, “Only a little. You know, a phrase here and there.”

“ _Still very impressive_.” Elijah hummed.

“So, what can I help you with today?” Elena asked slowly. “I assume you're not calling to talk about my Latin skills.”

“ _No, I'm not_.” Elijah said. “ _I thought we had a deal about you staying put_.”

“Oh, crap.” Elena cursed; she hadn’t really thought about that. “Sorry, I just wanted to go see a friend. I'm in Georgia at a bar and will be home tonight or tomorrow at the latest, if that makes you feel better.”

“ _Next time you decide to go ‘see a friend’ outside of Mystic Falls while the deal is in effect, call me first_.” Elijah ordered softly.

“I didn’t have your number before now.” Elena pointed out.

“ _My apologies_.” Elijah sighed.

“It’s human to error but divine to forgive.” Elena chuckled quietly.

“ _Does that mean you forgive me?_ ” Elijah laughed.

“Of course.” Elena chirped happily.

“ _I’ll let you go back to your friend_.” Elijah told her.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled.

“ _But if you are not back in Mystic Fall by tomorrow at the latest, the deal is off_.” Elijah murmured darkly and hung up.

Elena felt a shiver go down her spine, but it wasn’t a bad shiver. It was the sort of shiver that made her stomach tingle. She shook her head and made her way back into the bar just in time to hear Rose say, “My friend Elena can sing,” to a man standing by the bar with her and Bree.

“Bree, Rose, what's going on?” Elena asked as she walked up to them.

“Elena, this is Marcus.” Bree introduced the man; he was not overly tall but he had broad shoulders and a muscled built. “Him and his band were going to perform live but their singer is home with a high fever.”

“Okay, sorry for your band mate but what has that got to do with me?” Elena dreaded the answer.

“Well, according to Rose, you can sing.” Bree smirked at her.

“You can’t be serious?” Elena looked between Bree, Rose and Marcus.

“If you really can sing it would be great if you could sing in our band for tonight.” Marcus looked pleadingly at her. “You can choose songs you already know from this and we’ll even pay you some.”

Elena accepted the large binder from Marcus and opened it.

“That’s all the songs we as a band can play.” Marcus looked at her with begging eyes.

Elena thought about it, on one hand she hated being the center of attention and having people looking at her, on the other hand she knew that both Bree and the band would lose a lot of money if she didn’t sing and well, she did love to sing.

“Fine, I’ll do it.” Elena agreed with a deep sigh.

“Thank you!” Marcus almost sank to the floor in relief. “You look through that binder and I’ll grab the rest of the member and introduce you.”

“Thank you, Elena.” Bree hugged her close.

“No problem but you owe me one, Bree.” Elena mock grumbled.

“This is going to be epic!” Rose laughed loudly.

Elena looked through the binder and marked five songs she was willing to sing, she marked a sixth just as Marcus came back with the band.

“Elena.” Marcus walked up to her then she gestured to a young man with floppy brown hair and a bright smile. “This is Simon, he plays keyboard/mixer table.”

Then he gestured to a tall, slim, dark skinned man with laughter in his eyes, “This is Six, he plays the guitar.”

Finally, Marcus indicated towards the only woman in the band. She was tall, and curvy, with long blond hair which was shaved on one side. “And this is Nya, she’s our drummer.”

“Hi, I'm Elena.” Elena waved at them awkwardly.

“So, you’re the one saving our asses, huh?” Nya smirked at her. “It’s going to be fun to have another woman on the stage for once.”

“I like your style.” Simon smiled at her as he looked at her flowy blue dress and combat boots.

“Thanks.” Elena looked down a little as she blushed.

“So what songs are we doing tonight?” Six asked kindly.

“These are the ones I'm comfortable with.” Elena showed them the six songs she had marked.

“This will do great.” Marcus beamed at her. “We can’t thank you enough for this.”

“Are you ready to start now?” Six challenged her with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Hold that thought.” Elena turned to Rose and grabbed the full shot glass in front of her and down it in one fell swoop. “Now I am as ready as I’ll every be.”

Elena walked with the band, who Nya told her was called ‘The Shadows’, towards the stage and she almost ran out of the bar as she saw how many people had arrived to listen to a live band.

Bree had walked up on the stage first to introduce them to the crowd. “Welcome one, welcome all. Today we have a special treat for you all. The Shadows have come to play live for you all.”

The crowd was filled with applause and it seemed like The Shadows had some fans here because there were a group of people that almost screamed and whistled.

“Sadly, The Shadows lead singer had to cancel tonight due to a high fever. But luckily they met someone who could sing and she agreed to step in.” Bree said into the mike to loud applause. “Let’s welcome The Shadows; Nya on drums, Six on guitar, Marcus on bass, Simon on keyboard/mixer table and last but definitely not least, our guest singer Elena!”

The crowd applauded and cat called as Elena walk up to the mike and she smiled at them with a blush.

As Simon started to play Elena started to hum along, after a while Six joined in and then she started to sing, losing herself in the music.

_Just one more time before I go  
I'll let you know  
That all this time I've been afraid  
Wouldn't let it show  
Nobody can save me now, no  
Nobody can save me now_

_Stars are only visible in darkness  
Fear is ever-changing and evolving  
And I, I feel poison inside  
And I, I feel so alive_

_Nobody can save you now  
King is crown, it's do or die  
Nobody can save you now  
The only sound  
It's the battle cry  
It's the battle cry  
It's the battle cry  
Nobody can save you now  
It's do or die_

_Nobody can save you now  
King is crown, it's do or die  
Nobody can save you now  
The only sound  
It's the… _

_Nobody can save you now  
King is crown, it's do or die  
Nobody can save you now  
The only sound  
It's the battle cry  
It's the battle cry  
It's the battle cry  
Nobody can save you now  
It's do or die_

_Just one more time before I go  
I'll let you know  
That all this time I've been afraid  
Wouldn't let it show  
Nobody can save me now, no  
Nobody can save me now – Battle Cry by Imagine Dragons._

When the song was over the crowd went wild and Elena took a deep breath.

“When Rose said you could sing, I didn’t think she meant like that!” Marcus looked at her impressed.

After that they played two more songs, _Run Baby Run_ by The Rig and _21 Guns_ by Green Day, before they took a break.

“Damn girl.” Bree said as Elena came and sat down at the bar beside Rose. “You are really good.”

“That she is.” Nya walked up and threw an arm around Elena’s shoulders.

“Oh, Nya this is Rose a very good friend of mine.” Elena gestured to Rose. “Rose you already know who Nya is.”

“Nice to meet you.” Rose smiled.

“Likewise.” Nya nodded back.

“Hey Elena,” A guy she had never seen before walked up to her. “Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?”

“No but I did scrape my knee when I crawled out of Hell.” Elena sneered at him. “Get lost.”

“That was great!” Nya laughed and ordered shots for herself, Elena and Rose.

Elena swept her shot but decided to stick to water after that as she didn’t want to become drunk or even tipsy.

“Can I borrow your phone?” Nya held out her hand.

“Sure.” Elena gave her the phone then she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” The guy who tapped her on the shoulder asked. “Or should I walk past again?”

“That was so bad.” Elena groaned. “I'm not interested.”

“Here.” Nya gave her phone back to her. “I put in the bands numbers and texted myself from your phone so I have yours and can give it to the others.”

“Thank you.” Elena took her phone with a smile.

“So, where are you from Elena?” Six came up to them.

“A little place called Mystic Falls.” Elena smiled at him.

“Sounds very…mysterious.” Simon piped up. “And yes, that was a very bad joke.”

Marcus came over around fifteen minutes later, “Come on, lets continue.”

Nya linked her arm with Elena’s as they made their way back to the stage.

The first song they played after their break was _Numb_ by Linkin Park, quickly followed by _Boulevard of Broken Dreams_ by Green Day.

“We have one last song for you tonight.” Marcus said into his as the rest of the band grabbed their own mikes for the last song.

A dark beat started and Elena could feel it in her bones, then she started to sing Jacoby’s part in _Wolf Totem_ by The HU feat. Jacoby Shaddix.

Four hours later a tired but happy $2000 richer, Elena walked into the Gilbert resident.

“Stefan?” Elena asked as she saw him in the kitchen. “You're home.”

“Were have you been?” Stefan wanted to know, having been slightly worried.

“Me and Rose went to visit Bree in Georgia.” Elena smiled. “We had fun.”

“I um… I called Isobel.” Stefan admitted.

“I figured you would.” Elena nodded.

“I'm sorry, I had to.” Stefan rubbed the back off his neck.

“It’s okay.” Elena assured him with a sigh. “Did you find her?”

“Not exactly.” John walked into the kitchen. “Hello Elena.”

“Uncle John.” Elena looked at him in mock surprise, already knowing he would be coming.

**A/N: Another short chapter, I'm sorry.**

**I hope you like the way I changed it so Rose survived and her and Elena going to Bree instead.**

**I have now decided that Bonnie will definitely be a lesbian but I have no idea who her lady love should be.**

**As for the band members face claims I've got this:**

**Marcus played by Daniel Portman**

**Simon played by Grant Gustin**

**Six played by Jacob Anderson**

**Nya played by Jennifer Lawrence**

**Until Next Time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	19. Crying Daddy Wolf Issues

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

**Here you have another chapter a day early because I feel really bad about both the last chapter and this one being so short**

Elena walked down the stairs towards the kitchen wearing black shorts over black ripped tights, a dark blue sports bra, one of Damon’s button up which she had…borrowed… and her combat boots and feeling annoyed.

Stefan had convinced her to let John stay at the Gilbert house to protect her. She didn’t need protection for fuck sakes!

She saw John shut off the tv just as she walked into the living room on her way to the kitchen.

“Morning.” John looked at her.

“What are you doing here?” Elena was done with being nice and polite.

“Coffee?” John followed her to the kitchen.

“We’re not doing that.” Elena glared at him. “I gave you a pass last night because Stefan and his fucking puppy eyes. No more avoiding. _Why_ are you here?”

“I'm here to protect you.” John told her. “That’s all I can say at the moment.”

“And why can’t you tell me more?” Elena felt irritated.

“I’ll tell you more when I'm convinced, I can trust you.” John said as Jenna and Alaric made their way into the kitchen.

“Oh God, I'm late.” Jenna groaned, not registering that John was in the kitchen.

“That’s what you get for hitting the snooze button three times!” Alaric chuckled.

“What the hell?” Jenna froze as she noticed John.

“It’s okay that I'm confused, right?” Jenna looked around at the others. “Because we were not expecting you, like, ever.”

“Well, I got in late last night.” John shrugged. “Elena let me in.”

“He and Stefan guilt tripped me into letting him stay.” Elena grumbled.

“I…” John started but stared at Elena when she interrupted him and told Jenna the truth about the whole guilt tripping.

“You know, I'm uh, probably just gonna take off.” Alaric kissed Jenna softly and left.

“I'm still confused.” Jenna admitted.

“I decided to come back and stay for a while.” John informed her.

“Not here, you're not.” Jenna denied.

“Actually, you can’t stop me from living here.” John said smugly.

“Actually, I can, as Jeremys legal guardian and Elena’s proxy.” Jenna smirked back at him,

“Yeah about that…um. Elena, do you want me to explain the situation, or would you like to do the honors?” John hummed making Elena want to punch him in the face…again.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Jenna asked as she looked from Elena to John and back.

“Well it seems John thinks I'm keeping something from you…” Elena began.

“I'm Elena’s biological father.” John interrupted. “There, now you know.”

“Oh, I thought you were going to tell me something I didn’t already know.” Jenna chuckled as John walked away.

“You knew already?” John stopped in the doorway.

“Yeah, Elena told me as soon as she found out.” Jenna smirked.

John just huffed and left with a glare thrown back towards the two woman.

Elena pulled out her phone and sent to send a text.

**Elena:**

**Our deal had nothing about me killing people, right?**

_Elijah:_

_No, why do you ask?_

**Elena:**

**So, if I would accidently on purpose kill my sperm donor, would our deal still be intact?**

_Elijah:_

_Yes, but why do you want him to die?_

**Elena:**

**He’s a hypocritical dick that thinks just because he fucked my biological mother without protection, he has a right to decide things in my life >:(**

_Elijah:_

_And so, your automatic response is to plan murder?_

**Elena:**

**Yup :D**

**Would it still be considered patricide if basically no one knows he’s my father?**

_Elijah:_

_Yes._

**Elena:**

**Huh…**

**Thanks for clarifying our deal :)**

_Elijah:_

_You're welcome._

After she was done texting Elijah, she had decided to start some music and just dance for a while, letting the music guide her movements without caring about what anyone else would think.

Elena had been dancing around the living room for a while when there was a knock on the door.

“Damon?” Elena asked confused as she opened the door.

“Where’s John?” Damon walked in.

“He's not here, he left. I don’t know where he went.” Elena shrugged. “He just blew in, tried to shock Jenna by telling her that he's my sperm donor and then he took off.”

“He's probably sulking that Jenna already knew.” Damon smirked.

“Wouldn’t surprise me at all.” Elena chuckled.

“Are you okay?” Damon looked at her.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Elena reassured him. “I just have this weird, unexplainable urge to commit patricide for some reason.”

Damon gave a barking laugh. “He said what he was doing here?”

“Nope, apparently he doesn’t trust me or something.” Elena hummed. “You know, Stefan thinks that he's telling the truth about wanting to help me.”

“Do you believe him?” Damon wanted to know.

“Not even a little bit.” Elena huffed.

“Me neither.” Damon nodded.

“What are we going to do?” Elena asked slowly.

“Kill him.” Damon turned to leave.

“Not without me you’re not.” Elena grabbed her keys and followed him.

“You do know that I most likely am not gonna kill him, right?” Damon looked at her as they made their way to his car.

“Yeah but there is a teeny tiny chance and if it happens, I want to be there.” Elena smirked.

They made it to the grill and saw John with Jenna and Alaric.

“Damon you might have to hold me back from ripping his throat out, just so you know.” Elena whispered to Damon.

Damon smirked at her as they walked up to John. “John, buddy, how have you been?”

“I've been alright, Damon.” John answered. “It’s good to see you.”

“Liar.” Elena coughed.

“So, John.” Damon said slowly as they started to light some candles for the victims of some tragic event. “Rumor has it….”

Elena left them to whatever they were going to do and walked over to a table to call Lexi.

“ _Hello beautiful_.” Lexi answered her phone quickly.

“Hey gorgeous.” Elena said back with a chuckle. “How are you and Lee?”

“ _We’re fine, especially since you sent the daylight jewelry_.” Elena could hear the happiness in Lexi’s voice. “ _We are in the Caribbean at the moment, on a cruise_.”

“Oh, that sounds dreamy.” Elena sighed longingly, she wanted to go somewhere warm.

“ _It is_.” Lexi laughed. “ _I actually sent something to you a day or so ago and it should arrive any day now._ ”

“What is it?” Elena asked excited.

“ _You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you_.” Lexi hummed teasingly.

Elena and Lexi talked about Lexi’s and Lee’s trip and what Elena had been up to even though Elena kept a lot about what was going on in Mystic Falls a secret.

“Seems like I need to go.” Elena said as she saw Damon walking towards her.

“ _Say hello to everyone for me_.” Lexi chuckled and hung up the phone.

“You okay?” Elena asked Damon as he leaned against the table beside her.

“Yeah but I sort of want to kill you father.” Damon shrugged.

“Get in line.” Elena smirked at him and then her phone rang.

“Stefan?” Elena answered the phone. “What is it?”

After both her and Damon had listened to what Stefan had to say they regrouped in the restroom.

“They have Caroline, what are we going to do?” Elena started to pace.

“We’ll just rescue Caroline and kill the mutts that took her.” Damon declared.

“I'm going to spray the fuckers with wolfsbane.” Elena growled. “And I even think that Tyler would help.”

“Do you mind?” Damon glared at John who had entered the room.

“What's going on?” John asked.

“Nothing.” Elena snapped.

“It doesn't look like nothing.” John looked at her.

“Well guess what John, trust works both ways.” Damon sneered. “Get out.”

“Look, we don’t have time for this.” Elena grumbled. “We need to get Caroline back.”

“I want to tell you to stay out of it but I also know that you are a stubborn little bitch.” Damon groaned. “And the whole thing when we saved Stefan proved that you can take care of yourself.”

“I have actually been keeping tow water guns in my bag at all times.” Elena smirked. “One filled with vervain and the other filled with wolfsbane.”

“Then let’s go.” Damon and Elena walked out of the room leaving a reeling John behind.

An hour later Stefan, Elena, Tyler and Damon arrived in the woods where Jules and her pack where staying.

“I know you're out there.” Jules called out.

Stefan, Elena and Tyler stepped out of the woods and Stefan asked, “Where’s Caroline?”

“Locked up tight.” Jules smirked.

“Let her go and I’ll release Tyler.” Stefan said slowly. “It doesn’t have to get any messier than it already has. I'm not your enemy, Jules.”

“It’s a little late to be waving the white flag, don’t you think?” Jules sneered.

“You need to leave town.” Stefan tried again. “No one else has to get hurt.”

“I'm not leaving without Tyler.” Jules declared.

“And if Tyler doesn’t want to go with you?” Elena hummed looking bored.

“My brother the peacemaker.” Damon walked out of the dark. “Since Stefan was with Tyler when we found out you had taken Caroline, I'm going to let him try it his way before I resort to my way, which is a little bloodier. So, give us Caroline.”

“Let go of Tyler.” Jules demanded.

“Give us Caroline.” Damon repeated darkly. “Without a full moon it’s not exactly an even fight and you know it. We will take you.”

“I'm not so sure about that, though guy.” Jules smirked and whistled.

The rest of her pack walked out of their hiding places, all of them holding weapons including stakes, cross-bows and a flame-thrower.

“Damon.” Elena piped up in excitement. “I want a flame-thrower for Christmas.”

“We’ll see what we can do, my litter psychopath.” Damon chuckled.

“Let’s try this again.” Jules smirked again. “Give us Tyler.”

“You heard her.” Damon looked at Tyler. “Get over there.”

Tyler walked over to Jules slowly, knowing that his task in this was to find and free Caroline.

“Which one of you killed Mason?” Brady asked.

“That’s the thing.” Elena hummed as she made herself ready for the fight. “Mason isn’t dead and he told us that you guys weren’t his pack at all, even though you wanted him to join you.”

“Yeah, we helped him fake his death to protect him.” Damon smirked. “And he is now tying up loose ends so he can make the move to Mystic Falls more permanent.”

“Make sure that that one suffers.” Brady ordered as he gestured towards Damon, then he turned to Elena and looked at her up and down with a sleazy grin. “Keep that one alive, we could use a pack breeding bitch.”

“You just sealed your own doom.” Stefan growled as he glared at Brady.

“Let’s do this…” Damon glared and rushed at Jules.

Elena quickly lost track of Damon and Stefan as she fought. She used one of the tricks Damon had taught her because of her size; quick in and out jabs aimed at vulnerable places. After she killed the first one a second quickly took his place.

She sprayed him in the face with wolfsbane and then as he was screaming in pain, she slit his throat. Elena started to make her way over to where Brady is about to stake Damon, but before she can make it there, all of the werewolves except Tyler and another young man began to scream in pain.

“What’s happening?” Caroline asked as the werewolves grab at their ears and fall to the ground in pain.

“What the hell is going on?” Tyler looked around shocked.

Jonas Martin appeared, walking towards them with his hands held out while he’s casting a spell on the werewolves.

“Elijah made a promise to Elena.” Jonas said as Stefan and Damon got up from the ground. “I'm here to see it’s upheld. You need to get out of here, now.”

Tyler and Caroline were the first to leave with the help of Stefan. Damon and Elena started to leave until Elena stopped and turned towards Jonas.

“Tell Elijah thank you and that I owe him one.” Elena smiled and then Damon picked her up and vamp-sped away.

A while later Elena and Bonnie knocked on Carolines door.

“What are you guys doing here?” Caroline asked with a small smile.

“Well, you have been through a lot in the last few hours.” Bonnie said softly.

“So, we’re going to slumber it!” Elena beamed at her.

“We haven't done it in ages.” Bonnie smiled.

Caroline started to cry and Elena and Bonnie quickly walked in and hugged her, closing the door behind them.

XOXOXOX

Elena’s cell phone started to ring which woke up the three friends sleeping in Caroline’s bed and witch a groaned “Go away!” Caroline pushed Elena out of the bed.

“Unf.” Elena groaned as she hit the floor and glared back up at Caroline. Then she crawled over to the dresser to answer her phone. “Hello?”

“Shhh.” Bonnie hissed at her from the bed.

“Elena!” Caroline reprimanded, annoyed at being awakened.

“ _How was the slumber party_?” Stefan asked with a laugh.

“Good and much needed.” Elena said as she walked out of Carolines room.

“ _I'm glad that it helped_.” Stefan hummed.

“How’s Tyler?” Elena asked softly.

“ _He called Jeremy yesterday and they both stayed here for the night_.” Stefan told her. “ _He didn’t want to go home where Jules could get to him._ ”

“Hmm.” Elena hummed thoughtfully.

“ _What are you planning_?” Stefan chuckled, knowing by now about Elena’s weird but brilliant mind.

“Tyler doesn't want to go home where Jules and her pack of murderers can get to him, right?” Elena murmured.

“ _Right_.” Stefan agreed.

“Maybe we should either let him stay at my place, your place or maybe even send him to spend some time with Mason until this whole mess is over.” Elena suggested.

“ _I can ask him what he wants to do, if you want_?” Stefan offered.

“Yeah that would be great.” Elena smiled. “But tell him he doesn't have to decide right this second either, there’s no pressure.”

“By the way,” Stefan said. “I have actually fixed so you can stay at the Gilbert cabin for the weekend, you know, to get away for a while.”

“Oh, that sounds nice.” Elena sighed. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome.” Stefan laughed. “I’ll pick you up from your place in around two hours.”

“Sounds good.” Elena agreed and hung up.

She looked down at her phone and noticed a text message, which she opened quickly.

_Elijah:_

_You're welcome._

Elena smiled as she felt warmth fill her chest and then she frowned. Why did these weird things keep happening around Elijah, was she sick? Then she looked down at the text again and the smiled crept back on her face.

She quickly snuck back into Carolines room to grab her things and then made her way home to pack a bag for the weekend. As she walked towards the Gilbert house, she started to plan what to pack.

An hour and a half later Stefan nocked on the door to the Gilbert resident and walked in when he heard Elena call out for him to enter.

“Ready for your relaxing weekend?” Stefan smiled as he saw the enthusiasm on Elenas face.

“Beyond ready.” Elena bounced in place. “Let’s go before John shows up pretends to be a concerned father.”

“I’ll put the bags in the car then, shall I?” Stefan chuckled and carried the bags out.

Elena walked after him and when her phone buzzed, she pulled it.

_Caroline:_

_Need to talk, where are you?_

**Elena:**

**Headed to the lake house with Stefan. U ok?**

“Please tell me there is nothing wrong.” Stefan begged as he saw her with her phone in hand.

Before Elena could answer she got another text from Caroline.

_Caroline:_

_All good, never mind. Have fun!_

**Elena:**

**Xoxo :)**

“Nothing’s wrong, Caroline wanted to talk but I guess it could wait till Monday.” Elena smiled brightly. “Let’s go.”

XOXOXOX

Stefan pulled up to the lake house and turned to Elena when she sighed sadly, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I just miss Pearl, Harper and Anna.” Elena smiled at him. “But they seem to be having fun with traveling all around the world and I don’t blame them.”

“Did you also get the post card from them?” Stefan chuckled as they stepped out of the car.

“The one from France? Absolutely.” Elena laughed softly. “Anna has also been sending be pictures every few days. She also sent a video of Harper trying cotton candy for the first time, you should have seen the look of absolute wonder on his face.”

Stefan grabbed the bags from the car and followed Elena up to the front door. she unlocked the front door and walked in with Stefan right behind her until he froze right outside the door awkwardly.

“You don’t have to wait out there, you know?” Elena looked at him.

“That’s great but um…” Stefan shifted awkwardly. “I'm stuck.”

“Oh, my God!” Elena started to laugh. “You can’t get in.”

“I'm glad that you find this so amusing.” Stefan mock glared at her. “Could you be kind enough to invite me in?”

“I can’t, I'm sorry.” Elena became completely serious. “The cabin belongs to Jeremy.”

“You're kidding me, right?” Stefan asked a little worried.

Elena just looked at him seriously for a while until her lips started to twitch. “Stefan Salvatore, I hereby invite you into this home.”

“You are such a liar.” Stefan vamp-sped over to her and started to tickle her.

“I give, I give.” Elena called out admits her giggles.

A few hours later Stefan and Elena were preparing dinner while they listen to some soft music playing in the background.

“I love cooking and baking.” Elena told Stefan as she chopped some onions. “But I got to admit that I absolutely loath chopping onions.”

“You okay?” Stefan chuckled as he saw the tears running down Elenas face.

“Next time you can chop the fucking onions.” Elena declared as she was finally done and stepped back from the chopping board.

“Here, try this.” Stefan placed a cold wet towel over her eyes.

“Thanks.” Elena murmured.

“Any time.” Stefan smiled even though Elena couldn’t see.

“Fire’s dying.” Elena said as she took the towel of her eyes after a few minutes. “I’ll go and get some more wood while you finish dinner.”

“No, no. It’s cold outside.” Stefan protested.

“So, I’ll get a jacket.” Elena shrugged and walked up to her parent’s old bedroom.

Elena knew there was a hidden room with vampire hunting equipment up here thanks to the tv show and she wanted to find it. On the closet door she saw a jacket and pulled it down to toss it at Stefan.

“Here, bundle up. It was my great-grandfathers.” Elena smiled as she watched Stefan put it on and pop the collar. “It looks good on you, you should keep it.”

“Are you sure?” Stefan asked.

“Yes, I'm not going to use it and I don’t think Jeremy would want it.” Elena walked further into the closet. “And if you have it, it will at least be of use instead of hanging in the closet for the rest of time.”

“Thank you.” Stefan smiled at her.

Elena stumbled over a pair of old shoes and fell against the wall, mostly on purpose. “Hey, Stefan?”

“Yeah?” Stefan walked over to her.

“Does this sound hollow to you?” Elena asked and knocked on the closet wall.

“Hmm.” Stefan broke of one of the wall panels and then removed the rest with ease to show a hidden door behind the wall.

“That is seriously awesome.” Elena giggled with excitement.

“If nothing else it’s a very good hiding place.” Stefan said as he broke the lock on the door.

As Stefan flipped the light switch, they see an arsenal of weaponry for hunting vampires within the hidden room. Elena looked around with wide eyes, “Oh my God.”

Elena removed a journal from the bookcase and flipped through it. “This must be the other Jonathan Gilbert journals. Jeremy had one but John said that there were other. His whole life must be in here.”

“I’ll go get the firewood while you look through all this.” Stefan smiled and left.

Elena looked around the room in excitement, this could come in handy in the future. As she looked around, she saw a few newer looking journals all with the name Greyson Gilbert engraved on the front.

After putting the Greyson journals in her bag to bring home to read she walked out into the living room, rubbing her arms due to the cold. She walked out on the porch and called out to Stefan, “Are you growing the trees out there?”

When Stefan doesn’t respond she glanced around in worry and started to walk down the steps, “Stefan?”

Elena pulled out the small switch blade that Lee had sent her and flipped it open, “Stefan, what are you doing out there?”

Suddenly, Brady came up behind Elena, who quickly turned around with a gasp and stabbed him in the stomach. As Brady fell to his knees Elena rushed back into the house, shutting and locking the front door behind her.

Elena ran up the stairs just as Brady kicked the front door open with ease. He called out to her, “I can smell you!”

She tripped on the step closest to the upstairs landing and fell forward. Elena tried to quickly get up and run but brady managed to catch her by the hair just before she could run into a room. Brady threw her down on the floor and was on her before she could react.

“I’ll show you how wolves show dominance.” Brady snarled and started to rip at her clothes.

“Get off!” Elena scratched and kicked and bit at whatever she could reach.

“You’ll make a good pack bitch before we do the ritual.” Brady smirked darkly as he squeezed her breast painfully through her shirt.

Suddenly Brady froze with a pained look on his face and then he collapsed to the side. Elena looked up in time to see Stefan drop Brady’s heart to the floor as he slowly walked over to her.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. You're okay. You're okay.” Stefan repeated softly as Elena started to cry and run into his arms. “You're all right, it’s okay.”

“I want to go home, Stefan.” Elena murmured.

“Okay, we’ll go home.” Stefan agreed. “You just sit here on the couch while I clean up a little, okay?”

“Okay.” Elena sat down and pulled a blanket around her.

Half an hour later Stefan walked back into the room. “We’re good to leave.”

Elena stood up slowly, “I'm sorry I ruined the weekend.”

“That’s no fault of yours.” Stefan reassured. “By the way, Damon called and we need to talk.”

“What is it?” Elena asked softly.

“He learned that Elijah is planning for you to die in the ritual.” Stefan told her.

“I know the deal I made, Stefan.” Elena smiled gently at him. “Elijah’s very careful with his words and while he promised to protect my pack, he never said anything about me.”

“You knew you weren’t going to survive this?!” Stefan glared at her.

“If it comes down to a choice between me and the people I care about, I will always give up my own life without hesitation.” Elena informed him. “And you can all hate me for it but I rather you be alive to hate me than have you caring for me and be dead.”

“Have can you just stand there and not care that you are going to die?” Stefan asked like he couldn’t comprehend it.

“I'm just willing to do whatever is needed to keep you all safe.” Elena said.

“No!” Stefan growled lowly. “What you are doing is you're being a martyr.”

“You fucking hypocrite!” Elena glared at him. “How is this any different from when you say that you will die to keep me safe?”

“Because I've lived. 162 years I have lived and you’ve barely begun and now you want to let yourself be killed?” Stefan scoffed. “That’s not heroic, it’s tragic.”

“One person can live more in one lifetime that others can in several.” Elena snapped as Stefan walked past her to the car.

The car ride back into town was spent in silence. Elena was certain of her choice of being sacrificed in the ritual and it wasn’t just to keep her pack safe. Klaus has spent a thousand years with part of himself gone and Elena wanted to help him get it back.

She couldn’t imagine having to live with that. It must be so painful and hallow to miss part of your being so it’s no wonder he had anger issues and such.

When Stefan pulled up to the Gilbert house, she said a quiet goodbye to Stefan as she grabbed her bag and walked in. the first thing she did when she entered was walk up to Jenna and hug her.

“Elena?” Jenna asked even as she hugged back. “You okay?”

“Not really.” Elena sobbed and told her about what had happened with Brady.

“Oh, baby.” Jenna hugged her tighter. “Want to go with me to show Elijah around some historical sights tomorrow to get your mind of things?”

“Yeah that would be fun.” Elena pulled back and dried her eyes.

“Want me to make you some hot chocolate?” Jenna offered; it was the only thing except coffee she could make.

“No thanks, aunty,” Elena giggled softly. “I'm just going to take a shower and then go to bed.”

“Okay, love you doodle bug.” Jenna kissed her head.

“Love you to aunty.” Elena smiled and walked up the stairs.

She slowly stripped of her clothes as she started to feel the aches in her body from Brady throwing her on the floor, then she froze as she looked at herself in the mirror. There on her left breast was a dark hand shaped bruise where Brady had grabbed and squeezed.

Elena stepped mechanically into the shower and turned the heat up and then she sank to the floor as sobs wracked through her body, hoping that the shower would prevent the sound from reaching Jenna.

**A/N: As I said, short chapter :´(**

**I hope you liked it anyway and remember that I love you and I think that you're awesome <3**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	20. The House Partys Dinner Guests

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

The next morning Elena woke up with a smile on her face. She still ached from yesterday but Death had visited her dreams briefly to tell her that Brady would suffer for eternity for what he tried to do to her.

She checked her phone and saw a text from Rose. Turned out that Lexi and Rose were friend and Rose had gone to visit her and Lee. But Rose also wrote that Elena should call if she needed anything.

After she got dressed in a sports bra, training top, a pair of tight stretchy pants and one of Jeremy’s hoddies, she bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. She found Jenna looking through some papers at the breakfast bar and hugged her.

“Morning.” Elena said as she pulled back.

“Good morning, doodle bug, how are you feeling today?” Jenna asked softly.

“You haven't called me ‘doodle bug’ in years.” Elena laughed. “And I'm feeling surprisingly well, actually. I have some hand shaped bruises and stuff but otherwise I'm fine.”

“Still want to go with me today?” Jenna looked at Elena as she grabbed an apple.

“Yes, but I think me and Stefan needs to have a talk so we’re going back to the cabin after we are done with the historical thingy.” Elena shrugged. “I get that he’s mad at me but at the same time he’s being very condescending just because he’s a hundred years older than me.”

“Of course, he’s mad, you want to sacrifice yourself in some ritual that does god knows what.” Jenna pointed out.

“You know?” Elena whispered a little scared.

“Stefan told me about you wanting to sacrifice yourself.” Jenna stood up and pulled Elena into a hug. “And while I hate the thought of you dying, I also know that since your parent’s accident you have grown up quicker than most.”

“You not mad at me?” Elena mumbled into Jenna's shoulder.

“No, I love you, doodle bug, and nothing can change that.” Jenna reassured her. “And if there was a way for you to fight back without risking your friends and family, I know you would fight like a warrior goddess of old.”

“I love you too, Aunt Jenna.” Elena hugged her tighter before letting go and hastily drying the tears on her cheeks.

Half an hour later Elena and Jenna met up with Elijah at the old Fell property.

“Elijah, nice to see you again.” Jenna smiled.

“Jenna.” Elijah nodded before he turned towards Elena and smiled as he kissed the back of her hand. “Elena.”

“Shall we?” Jenna asked and smiled secretly when she saw the way Elijah looked at her niece.

“How are you?” Elijah asked kindly as Jenna started to lead them into the woods.

“Oh, you know, despite the aches and bruises from the werewolf who tried to rape me, I'm feeling pretty good.” Elena shrugged. She didn’t know why she had just said that but at the same time she didn’t care.

“Are you alright?” Elijah looked her over to find any injuries. “Tell me who it was and I will fix it.”

“I'm achy but fine.” Elena felt a blush on her cheeks at the concerned look he was sending her and hoped that he would just think it was because of the cold. “And while that is very sweet of you, Stefan already ripped his heart out.”

“But he didn’t offer you his blood to heal you?” Elijah murmured quietly.

“No, we got into a fight when he found out that our deal didn’t include me.” Elena whispered back.

“You can have some of mine as soon as your Aunt isn’t paying attention.” Elijah told her softly.

“The old Fell property actually starts beyond that fence.” Jenna gestured.

“Ah, the Fells.” Elijah scoffed. “One of the _Founding Families_.”

“Why do you say it like that?” Jenna asked.

“My research showed me that this area was actually settled almost two full centuries earlier. It was a migration of townsfolk from the northeast, um, it was Salem to be precise.” Elijah explained.

“Research huh?” Elena giggled making Elijah crack a smile.

“Massachusetts?” Jenna wondered. “As in the witch trials?”

Elijah hummed in agreement, “Which means that the ever-lauded founding families… didn’t actually found anything.”

“Does that mean we are going to start calling them ‘the founding families that didn’t actually found anything’ or does ‘the founding not so founding families’ sound better?” Elena chuckled.

“I bet that it was men who made a big deal about being founder back in 1860.” Jena laughed. “Men are very territorial.”

“Yes, they are.” Elijah agreed even as he looked at Elena, which she was oblivious to but Jenna wasn’t.

“Elijah, this is Alaric Saltzman.” Jenna introduce as Ric walked up. “My significant other.”

“You do know that you can call him your boyfriend, right?” Elena chirped.

“But that sounds so juvenile.” Jenna smirked. “And lover just sounds like we have a lot of sex but nothing else.”

“I got your message about walking Elijah through the old property lines. I thought I would tag along; you know being a history buff and all.” Ric lied. “Where to next?”

“I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners.” Elijah offered slowly. “Some say, you know, the descendants of the slaves are the true keeper of American history.”

“Well, I only brought the surveys.” Jenna told him. “I got the list in the car. Just give me a sec.”

Jenna walked away leaving Elijah, Elena and Alaric to talk.

“So, you're Alaric Saltzman.” Elijah hummed.

“Yeah and could you stop trying to charm my girlfriend?” Ric asked with a cold look.

“She’s not the one I'm after.” Elijah murmured as he looked at Elena through the corner of the eye, which, again, Elena didn’t notice.

The rest of the time was spent looking around the old places of Mystic Falls. At one point Jenna got a phone call after Alaric had had to leave which left Elijah and Elena to talk.

“Here.” Elijah quickly bit into his wrist and offered it to her.

“Thank you.” Elena said as she drank gently.

“How are you really?” Elijah asked softly.

“It’s not like it’s the first time someone tried to force themselves on me.” Elena shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal and to her it really wasn’t.

“What?” Elijah looked shocked.

“The history teacher before Ric had some weird obsession with me, he had several pictures and some videos of me in the shower.” Elena explained. “Then after a football game he tried to force himself on me, showing his hand under my skirt and stuff, but luckily Stefan and Damon saved me.”

“Where is this man now?” Elijah asked with a dark look in his eyes.

“Damon killed him and it was deemed an animal attack.” Elena hummed.

“Good.” Elijah nodded as Jenna came back from her phone call.

XOXOXOX

Several hours later Elena and Stefan were at the lake house. Stefan had told her about his first few months as a vampire and how Lexi had saved him as she read one of Jonathan Gilbert’s journals.

“ _It must be brandished by humans alone, for it will bring death to all demons who wield it._ ” Elena read out loud and Stefan grabbed the journal to look at it.

“John’s trying to get Damon killed.” Stefan told Elena as he pulled out his phone to call his brother. When Damon doesn't answer Stefan leaves a message, “Why is your phone of? Call me.”

“What’s going on Stefan?” Elena demanded to know.

“Damon is planning on killing Elijah.” Stefan admitted. “Tonight.”

“What?!” Elena snapped at him with glare.

She quickly pulled out her phone and tried to text Elijah a warning.

**Elena:**

**They are trying to ki…**

Stefan grabbed her phone and tossed it away. “You can’t warn him.”

“He has been nothing but kind to me Stefan so you can just fuck off.” Elena stormed off in anger.

Elena had been standing on the balcony for a while trying to breath through her anger when Stefan walked over to her.

“Elena, we need to talk about this.” Stefan said as he stopped beside her.

“What good is talking if you and Damon are just going to lie to me?” Elena glared at him. “If you don’t like my decisions, that’s fine. There’s nothing I can do about that, but if you _ever_ go behind my back again. I’ll…”

“You're going to what? Hmm? What are you going to do Elena?” Stefan challenged.

“I’ll never speak to you again.” Elena told him coldly. “I can handle a lot, Stefan, _a lot_. But what I cannot handle is my best friend going behind my back.”

“Do you know why I've been telling you about my past?” Stefan asked her. “It’s about the time in my life when I had given up because that is exactly what you are doing now.”

“I'm not giving up Stefan!” Elena shouted at him. “I don’t want to die but at the same time I do not fear it. To save my family and friends I would die a thousand times over. That is not giving up, this is just prioritizing.”

Elena walked back inside and picket up the journal from where she left off. She had been reading for around twenty minutes when Stefan walked down the stairs and into the sitting room.

“Elijah’s dead, Alaric did it.” Stefan sat as he sat down beside her.

Elena felt a hand squeeze her heart when she heard that Elijah was dead but ignored it to keep reading. “ _Originals believed in truth and honor. It was forbidden for a vampire to kill another vampire. So, the dagger would take both lives. And as long as the dagger stays in place, the Original, for all intents and purposes, is dead._ ”

Stefan vamp-sped to his phone to call Damon as Elena walked towards the front door but Stefan grabbed her arm. “He’s here.”

Suddenly the door breaks off its hinges as Elijah had thrown something at it.

“You have to go.” Elena told Stefan. “I need to talk to him alone.”

“Elena…” Stefan began.

“Go.” Elena ordered him.

Elena waits for a few minutes to be certain that Stefan is gone before she turned towards Elijah who was standing in the doorway, unable to get in. “Come in, Elijah.”

“You tried to warn me.” Elijah murmured as he walked into the cabin.

“But I wasn’t fast enough.” Elena looked down. “I'm sorry. I didn’t know what they were going to do.”

“I do not blame you.” Elijah walked closer to her making her stomach tingle.

Before either of them could react, an arrow flew through the air and hit Elena in the stomach. Elijah rushed forward and caught her before she hit the floor.

“Wha…” Elena looked shocked.

“I’ll have to rip the arrow out but I’ll give you my blood to heal you after, okay?” Elijah looked at her.

“Okay.” Elena nodded a bit dazed and brazed herself for the pain.

Elijah quickly ripped the arrow but before he could feed her his blood Alaric came up behind him and stuck the silver dagger into his chest. Elijah got a shocked look on his face before he fell to the ground, dead.

Damon rushed forward and gave her his bloody wrist. When she was healed, she looked at Damon, Stefan and Alaric with a dark glare.

Three hours later Damon and Stefan were carrying Elijah’s body down into the basement of the boarding house and during this time Elena hadn’t said a single word to either of them. She had tried to sneakily pull the dagger out of Elijah but Damon and Stefan had managed to stop her every time.

Elena glared at them both one last time before she stormed out of there and made her way back to the Gilbert home.

XOXOXOX

Elena hadn’t spoken to the Salvatore brothers or Alaric for over a week and when they tried, she ignored them and walked away. She wasn’t angry or pissed as much as she felt betrayed. She wasn’t some little girl that couldn’t protect herself and needed coddling.

“Elena.” Stefan said as he made his way into her room through her window.

Elena just turned away from him and started to walk away but Stefans hand on her arm stopped her.

“I know that you are angry at us but this is really important.” Stefan pleaded with her.

“Oh, so now you feel like telling me about the important bits?” Elena glared. “Or are you just going to have Alaric shoot me with a crossbow again if I don’t do want you want?”

“It’s Kathrine.” Stefan told her.

“Fine, I’ll meet you at the boarding house but I'm still mad at you.” Elena huffed and made her way out of the house after telling Jenna where she was going.

“Are you sure, doodle bug?” Jenna asked.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I have forgotten what they did.” Elena kissed her on the cheek and left.

Jenna had slapped Alaric when she found out what he had done and refused to talk to him for as long as Elena did. The night Elena had come home from the cabin she had told Jenna and Jeremy everything and then the three of them had spent the night cuddled up on the couch.

Jeremy had actually punched Stefan every time he saw him for three days and even had Tyler helping with the punching and he had showed a stake in Damons leg after he found out what they had done to his sister. But worst of all was Alaric’s punishment; Jeremy kept pranking him, glued his cabinets, air horn under his seat etc.

Twenty minutes later Elena walked into the boarding house to see Damon and Stefan glaring at one Kathrine Pierce. She ignored the three as she walked over to the drink table and poured herself some bourbon.

“Kathrine, nice to see you again.” Elena nodded at her double.

“Elena, I've heard that you are angry at Damon and Stefan.” Kathrine smirked.

“Today is the first day I have talked to either of them in a week so…” Elena shrugged. “You know, we should go shopping sometime.”

“Oh, that could be fun.” Kathrine nodded with a smirk.

“We could tell people we’re identical twins.” Elena chuckled.

“Are you two done?” Damon asked with a huff.

“No.” Elena and Kathrine chorused.

“Anyway, what did you want?” Elena looked at Damon and Stefan with a glare.

“When we killed Elijah, it broke the compulsion and freed the bitch from the tomb.” Damon told her.

“Hey! That’s my great, great, great something grandmother your talking about, shoe some respect!” Elena mock scolded. She might not really like Kathrine at the moment but if she stopped trying to kill her friend and family Elena thought they could get along.

“How’s that possible?” Stefan asked Damon, ignoring Elena’s outburst.

“He’s an Original.” Kathrine smirked. “They have all sorts of special skills.”

“We don’t want you here.” Damon sneered.

“You need me, especially Elena.” Kathrine looked at her.

“Like hell!” Stefan huffed.

“We all want the same thing… Klaus dead.” Kathrine said and Elena almost laughed, she didn’t want him dead she wanted to help him. “Yet here you all are, running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”

“I don’t need your help.” Elena told her with a bland look.

“And that is incredibly stupid of you.” Kathrine sneered. “Do you know where Klaus is? Do you know what he looks like?”

“If you know something, say it or get out.” Damon snapped.

“Fine. Then I’ll just go to the grill and have some lunch…” Kathrine smirked. “Maybe Aunt Jenna’s free for a bite.”

Elena almost laughed at that. It seemed like Kathrine hadn’t figured out about the tattoos Elena had or questions her friends and family would ask if they felt uncertain it was her or not.

“Well, I'm going to school.” Elena started to walk out with Stefan following her.

“What? Don’t trust me alone in your house?” Elena scoffed.

“At the moment? No.” Stefan said. “I know you too well, Elena, you would definitely undagger Elijah if we left you alone in the house.”

“That’s because he didn’t deserve to be daggered in the first place!” Elena growled.

“He was going to use you in a sacrifice!” Stefan shouted back at her as he parked his car in the school parking lot.

“By trying to stop me from being made into a sacrifice you might have doomed others to death.” Elena glared at him. “And while I don’t care about most people you are risking my pack.”

“You are my best friend, Elena.” Stefan admitted softly. “I don’t want you to die.”

“I don’t want to die either, Stefan, but what you are doing is incredibly selfish.” Elena stormed off towards the school.

An hour later Elena decided that she couldn’t handle school for today so she walked home after telling Bonnie and Caroline to come over later that evening.

Now she was sitting on the floor as she tried to meditate and talk to Death. One of the reasons why she couldn’t handle school was that she kept having this feeling, like she instinctually knew if someone was human or not.

For example, she had bumped into a sophomore and knew that he had witches in his family even though he himself didn’t have magic. And when she hugged Caroline, she could tell that she was a vampire but not how long she had been one.

“ _Nice to hear from you, my dear._ ” Elena heard Death whisper in her mind.

“I thought you could answer some questions and I actually missed talking to you.” Elena smiled.

“ _I have missed you too, daughter._ ” Death sounded a little hesitant as he called her daughter but it made Elena beam in happiness. “ _What where the questions?_ ”

Elena quickly told him about what had been going on and what she felt that day at school.

“ _It seems you have gained a version of aura reading._ ” Death hummed in thought. _“That could be useful in the future._ ”

Elena talked to Death for a while longer, not noticing her head start hurting until they had finished talking and said goodbye. She opened her eyes and closed them again quickly with a groan of pain.

With her head throbbing in pain, Elena slowly made her way to the kitchen to get two of her pain tablets from the car accident. After she had taken them, she laid down on the floor and waited for the pain to disappear.

XOXOXOX

“Chinese food or pizza?” Caroline asked a couple of hours later as her, Bonnie and Elena were in the Gilbert kitchen.

Bonnie had just told them about the talk her and Stefan had had with Jonas and Luka.

“Both.” Elena smirked, another thing she had noticed after her talk with Death was that her apatite had increased.

“I’ll get it.” Caroline picked up her tablet.

“Do you believe that Jonas is being sincere?” Elena asked.

“I don’t know what to believe.” Bonnie shrugged. “I think he's at a loss. He's not sure who to trust.”

“Join the club. We could make matching jackets.” Elena murmured with a soft laugh.

“Well, what are we going to do with the whole movie situation?” Caroline piped up form where she was sitting. “What about ‘The Notebook’?”

“Caroline, how many times have you seen that movie?” Elena giggled.

“That’s not the point.” Caroline laughed.

“If you say so.” Elena smiled at her as Jenna walked into the kitchen. “Hey, aunty.”

“What’s going on?” Jenna looked around at the three girls.

“Girl’s night.” Bonnie piped up.

“Oh.” Jenna nodded.

“Wanna join in?” Caroline offered with a smile.

“I would love to.” Jenna smiled brightly. “I haven’t had a girl’s night in years.”

“Let’s talk boys!” Caroline cheered.

“So…does anyone have a crush on someone?” Jenna asked after a while.

“Not a crush per say but I wouldn’t mind having a little fun with Damon.” Caroline giggled.

“Caroline!” Elena called out in mock shock with a hand on her chest as everyone laughed.

“How about we play Fuck, Marry, Kill?” Bonnie offered.

“Should we do it with celebrities or people we actually know?” Jenna asked as she poured herself some wine.

“People we actually know!” Elena, Bonnie and Caroline chorused.

“Because it was Bonnie’s idea, she gets to start us off.” Caroline decided.

“Jenna.” Bonnie turned to her. “Sheriff Forbes, Richard, the bartender at the grill, Alaric. Go!”

“That was an easy one.” Jenna laughed. “I’d Marry Alaric, even though I'm mad at him at the moment, Kill Richard and sorry Caroline but I’d Fuck Liz, she's hot.”

“It’s okay, I know my mom is gorgeous.” Caroline smirked and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Were do you think I got it from?”

“So true, you are a gorgeous blond bombshell.” Elena giggled.

“Elena.” Jenna turned to Elena with a smirk.

“I don’t like the look in your eyes, Aunt Jenna.” Elena murmured.

“Fuck, Marry, Kill.” Jenna never lost her smirk. “Damon, Matt, Elijah.”

“Oh, you are an evil one.” Elena groaned making the others laugh at her. “I’d Fuck Damon because he must have some tricks up his sleeve. I’d Marry Elijah, we already know he looks good in a suit. And I’d kill Matt, he may be a friend sort off but not a close one.”

“I actually thought you would say you would fuck Elijah.” Jenna almost sounded disappointed then she turned to Bonnie and Caroline. “You should have seen the way he was looking at her when we did the whole history walk thing.”

“If she marries Elijah, she could fuck him several times though.” Caroline giggled.

“Oh, shut it, you.” Elena blushed, feeling butterflies in her stomach at the thought of Elijah. “Caroline; Stefan, Tyler, Alaric.”

“I would Marry Stefan, he seems like he would be a gentleman. Fuck Tyler, give a whole new meaning to doggie style.” Caroline smirked making the other giggle like children. “But can I fuck Alaric before I kill him?”

“Is he good in bed, Jenna?” Bonnie giggled while Caroline piped up with, “Is he as endowed as we think?”

All four of them were slightly tipsy by now as Jenna had decided to stop being a role model for one night and let the seventeen almost eighteen year olds drink.

“Let’s just say that I had a little trouble walking the day after our first night together.” Jenna smirked.

“Whoo-hooo, you go Aunt Jenna.” Elena almost fell of her chair.

“Bonnie.” Caroline said after everyone had calmed down a little. “Luka, Jeremy, Mason.”

“I’d Marry Jeremy, making Elena my sister by marriage.” Bonnie hugged Elena. “While I do sort of like Luka, I don’t trust him so I would Kill him and Fuck Mason.”

They play and laugh for a while until Caroline said that they should all go dancing at the grill. When they arrived, they looked at the band and then Jenna took a deep breath and walked up to the bar to talk to Alaric.

Caroline quickly dragged both Elena and Bonnie to the dance floor and the three of them started to dance, ignoring the guys coming up and trying to dance with them. After a while Elena excused herself to go to the bathroom.

As she was washing her hands Stefan called and told her what had happened with Luka and what Jonas was planning. Elena hurried back to the dance floor to drag Caroline of.

“Where’s Bonnie?” Elena looked around.

“She went to get us some sodas.” Caroline smiled.

“We have a problem.” Elena told her just as Stefan arrived.

“What’s going on?” Caroline asked, instantly on guard.

“Jonas is here and he's after Elena.” Stefan said and then explained what had happened with Luka.

“Oh my God!” Caroline brought her hands up to her face.

“We have a plan, but I need to get Elena out of here.” Stefan murmured urgently.

“What can we do?” Caroline wanted to know.

“Stall.” Stefan declared as he started to drag Elena away.

The rest of the night passed by in a blur of adrenalin and waiting and before Elena knew it, she was walking into the Gilbert house while she asked Damon, “How did you guys convince her to do this?”

“We didn’t.” Damon admitted. “It was actually her idea.”

“Wow.” Elena murmured. “That is either a good thing or a bad thing.”

“No, it’s not good at all.” Damon huffed.

“Everything is taken care of.” Stefan said as he and Kathrine walked down the stairs.

“I'm guessing you're going to want this back.” Kathrine held out Elena’s bracelet towards her. “But your pretty little outfit is going to need a good dry clean.”

“You can keep it if you want.” Elena shrugged as she put on her bracelet again.

“Is that all you have to say to me?” Kathrine glared.

“Thank you.” Elena walked over to Kathrine and kissed her on the cheek then she smirked. “Now get out so I can go to sleep.”

“You might not be so bad after all.” Kathrine smirked back at her and walked out.

Elena had showered and dressed for bed but didn’t feel as tired anymore so she decided to join Jenna in the kitchen.

“Are John and Jeremy asleep?” Jenna asked before putting a spoon of ice cream in her mouth.

“I think so.” Elena shrugged as she got herself a spoon.

“If I go to bed now, there’s a chance that I’ll wake up hungover-free tomorrow.” Jenna offered Elena the ice cream carton.

Elena and Jenna ate some ice cream in silence for a while until the doorbell rang.

“Who’s that?” Jenna muttered as she got up to answer it.

“Hi, you must be Jenna.” Isobel smiled form the other side of the door. “I’m…Elena’s mother.”

“No, you're not.” Jenna glared. “My sister was Elena’s mother and you? You are just some long forgotten egg donor.”

**A/N: Another short chapter, I am so sorry :(**

**I am actually not really happy with this chapter but I hope you all liked it or that it was at least readable.**

**I'm open to suggestions, so who do you want Bonnie’s lady love to be?**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	21. Know thy last dance enemy

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

“Hello, Elena. It’s nice to see you again.” Isobel looked at Elena.

“Didn’t me spraying your face full of vervain clue you in about the fact that I don’t like you?” Elena asked with a raised eyebrow.

“So, you're the woman who’s dating my husband.” Isobel ignored Elena as she turned to Jenna. “I need to speak to Elena, may I come in?”

Jenna snorted as she smirked at Isobel. “No, I try not to invite vampires into my house.”

“To clarify,” Elena glared. “That means ‘Get lost!’”

Jenna slammed the door in Isobel’s face and turned to Elena, “Your egg donor is a bitch.”

“Understatement of the year.” Elena said calmly.

Jenna and Elena looked at each other for a while then they started to laugh.

“Oh, the look on her face when you slammed the door…” Elena laughed in delight.

“Did you really spray vervain in her face?” Jenna giggled.

“Did I forget to tell you about that?” Elena said through her laughter. “It was after she had kidnapped Jeremy to force me to give her the Gilbert device. After I knew that Jere was safe, I sprayed her in the face with liquid vervain and walked away as she screamed.”

“You are awesome, doodle bug.” Jenna cackled. “How about we eat ice cream and watch a movie?”

“Absolutely.” Elena beamed. “You get the spoons and the ice cream I’ll get the movie.”

Jenna bounced off to the kitchen to get the ice cream while Elena started the tv and put in the movie she chose for them to watch.

“So what movie are we watching?” Jenna asked as she walked back in.

“Fast and the Furious.” Elena smiled, she absolutely loved the Fast&Furious franchise.

“Paul Walker is so gorgeous.” Jenna said as she sat down on the couch.

“He definitely is that.” Elena snuggled into Jenna's side and grabbed a spoon. “I'm convinced that Dom and Brian are more than just friends.”

“I completely agree with you.” Jenna giggled.

XOXOXOX

The next morning, after Elena and Jenna had woken up cuddling together on the couch, Elena skipped up to the door and opened it for Alaric who was standing on the other side.

“Is Jenna up yet?” Alaric asked as he stepped into the Gilbert house.

“Good morning to you to.” Elena smiled innocently before punching him in the face.

“What?” Alaric rubbed his face as he looked at Elena with shocked eyes.

“That was for shooting me with a crossbow.” Elena walked away while shaking her hand, punching people hurt.

“Yeah I deserved that.” Alaric muttered.

“It’s good that you feel that way.” Jenna smiled at him and slapped him. “Then you’ll realize that you deserved that too.”

“Yeah.” Alaric did the smart thing and agreed.

“I'm going to go stay at Campus for a while, okay?” Jenna looked at Elena. “I have a big paper due and I seem to get distracted by movies and ice cream while in this house.”

“I'm not sorry.” Elena laughed.

“Neither am I.” Jenna smiled and hugged Elena. “Could you go to the Lockwood’s today and accept the Historical Society’s check for your mom’s foundation?”

“Sure, no problem.” Elena agreed.

Jenna walked towards the door but paused before she left, “You can call me if you need anything.”

“Remember to eat and hydrate.” Elena called back with a smile.

“Where’s Jenna going?” John asked as he came down the stairs.

Alaric, knowing that John had done everything he could to mess up things for Jenna, took a page out of Elena’s book and punched him in the face. Then he walked out with a ‘See you later, Elena,’ over his shoulder.

“He punched me.” John said as he held his face.

“Who did?” Elena asked with a smirk. “I didn’t see anything.”

“Right.” John muttered as Elena walked upstairs.

An hour later Stefan had joined Elena in her bedroom, she needed someone to talk to and she missed having Stefan as her best friend.

“…this is bad. Between Isobel and John and now Matt, this is a disaster.” Elena finished her rant by falling backwards onto the bed.

“Yeah.” Stefan nodded in agreement and was about to say something else but was interrupted by John walking into the room.

“Elena, can you come downstairs, please?” John asked politely. “I need to talk to you.”

Elena turned to Stefan and mock whispered, “It must be serious, he said ‘please’.”

“Please, it’s important.” John turned to Stefan. “You, too, Stefan.”

Elena and Stefan followed John downstairs to see Isobel coming out of the kitchen.

“I asked John for a do-over.” Isobel said.

“And like an idiot he actually thrusted you and invited you in.” Elena glared.

“She has information about Klaus.” John defended himself then he pleaded with her. “Please, just listen to her, okay?”

Elena nodded slowly and the four of them made their way into the kitchen so they could sit down and talk around the breakfast bar.

“Since I was last here, I've been doing everything possible to find Klaus.” Isobel explained. “We knew our best chance was to find him before he could find you.”

“Best chance of what?” Stefan asked.

“Keeping Elena alive.” John said strongly.

“You care…why?” Elena looked at him. “I mean, you’ve had, what? Seventeen years to tell me who you really were to me but you wait until now, so why should I listen to anything you have to say?”

“Where you able to find Klaus?” Stefan asked Isobel before John could say anything.

“No. Nobody knows where he is but there are rumors that are flying around.” Isobel looked at them al with a serious look. “That a doppelgänger exists.”

“Which means that any vampire that wants to get in favor with Klaus will be lining up to capture you.” John cautioned Elena.

“Why should I believe any of this?” Elena huffed and turned to Isobel. “The last time you were here, we made it clear to each other that we don’t care about the other, or I assume you would have understood that, at least. Now all of a sudden I'm supposed to believe that you want to help?”

“Isobel’s been helping all along. Klaus has been obsessed with finding Kathrine for centuries.” John protested. “All it would take was any one of those 1864 tomb vampires to spread the word around that Kathrine was still alive and it would bring him straight here to Mystic Falls, where you were bound to be discovered, so we killed them.”

“And tried to kill Damon and Stefan, two of my best friends, in the process.” Elena glared at them both and said sarcastically. “Yeah, parents of the year right here.”

“I have a safe house that I can take you to.” Isobel stood up and walked over to Elena. “The deed is in your name. No vampires can get in without your permission, not even me. Let me help you.”

“You really want to help?” Elena scoffed with a dark look. “Then get the fuck out of my house!”

Elena was doing her best to breath calmly as she watched Isobel and John leave while Stefan rubbed her back soothingly. “Stefan, remind me why I shouldn’t just kill them and solve at least one problem?”

“Because you'd go to prison and get bored within a week.” Stefan chuckled lowly.

“Yeah, I guess you're right.” Elena slumped down against the chair she was sitting in.

“I do tend to be right occasionally.” Stefan smiled.

“I really don’t trust Isobel, especially because she said the last time, she was in town that she had shut off her emotions which means she doesn’t care about anything or anyone.” Elena grumbled as she went to but on some shoes, she didn’t care that she was technically in her sleeping pants and a t-shirt. “We should talk to the other about what just happened here. We’re going to the boarding house, you're driving.”

Half an hour later Damon had told Elena and Stefan what him, Jeremy and Bonnie had been up to and they had told him about the meeting with John and Isobel.

“Do you think Isobel was telling the truth about the word getting out about the doppelgänger?” Elena asked slowly.

“I don’t trust a word that she says, but I think we’d be stupid to ignore the potential threat.” Stefan said as he looked at her.

“You know, you should just stay here.” Damon offered with a shrug. “It’s better for us to keep an eye on you.”

“I can take care of myself Damon and I don’t want to be an inconvenience.” Elena told him firmly but she sent a smile his way to show that she appreciated the thought.

“We have never claimed that you can’t take care of yourself, Elena.” Damon waked over to her. “But we do worry about you and don’t want to see you hurt.”

“So, it wasn’t your idea to shoot me with a cross bow to distract Elijah?” Elena hummed.

“You still pissed about that?” Damon tried to sound nonchalant but it didn’t really work.

“Yes, and I still don’t agree with daggering Elijah but I have decided to let it go.” Elena had to stop herself from starting to hum ‘Let it go’ from _Frozen_ due to the fact that the movie hadn’t even come out yet.

“Back to the matter at hand.” Stefan interrupted. “We can’t have Elena stay here in a house that any vampire can enter. Her place is safer.”

“Well, then we’ll stay there.” Damon shrugged. “I can play some x-box with baby Gilbert if Elena wants to be alone for a while.”

“Your plan is to not let me out of your sight ever again?” Elena looked at them like they were crazy.

“Let me know when you come up with a better one.” Damon smirked at her.

“Fine.” Elena huffed, way too tired of this to argue. “Then one of you two bodyguards is going to have to go with me to the Lockwood luncheon.”

“That’d be me.” Stefan stood up.

“Not me.” Damon walked over to pour himself some more bourbon. “I have witch stuff to attend with Bonnie.”

“Have fun.” Elena smiled knowing that they were going to the old Witch House.

“What is your plan to get us out of this mess, hmm?” Kathrine looked at them as she walked into the room. “I delivered you a moonstone, a werewolf and the dagger to lure and kill Klaus and right now all you have is a moonstone. Unless you’ve lost that one too.”

“No, we have it.” Damon sipped his bourbon.

“Where is it?” Kathrine asked.

“In a _very_ safe place.” Damon smirked at her.

“I've been honest with you.” Kathrine glared and sounded sort of whiny to Elena. “Time to return the favor.”

“You want honesty?” Damon scoffed. “I’ll be honest with you; Don’t mistake the fact that we haven't set you on fire in your sleep for trust.”

Elena hummed in agreement, stole a sip of Damon’s bourbon and walked out so she could go home and change for the Lockwood luncheon.

XOXOXOX

Elena and Stefan walked into the Lockwood mansion together. Elena had decided to wear a knee length, light pink, cocktail dress, matched with black open toed heels.

“Hey.” Stefan said to Caroline as she walked over to them. “Any luck in finding Matt?”

“None.” Caroline looked worried. “What if he tells somebody? What if he tells _everybody_?”

“It only takes one little push to make someone go from somebody to some body.” Elena smiled at her friend.

“Really Elena?” Stefan chuckled.

“What?” Elena shrugged. “I like saying that.”

“He was never supposed to find out.” Caroline groaned. “Just because I decided to save my ex.”

“We’ll help you find him.” Elena hugged Caroline. “I just have to accept this thing for Jenna.”

“Thank you.” Caroline hugged her back. “Call me when you're done, I’ll be out looking for him.”

“Be careful.” Stefan smiled at Caroline as she walked away.

“Stefan, I have a bad feeling about this.” Elena murmured softly.

“Anything specific or just broadly?” Stefan asked quietly even as he started to look around with suspicion

“I don’t know, just this feeling of something…” Elena worried her lip between her teeth.

“I have learned to trust your gut feeling so we’ll be cautious.” Stefan assured her as he led her into the sitting room.

For over an hour they had to sit and listen to Carol drone on and on about different stuff that Elena didn’t even register. Luckily Stefan nudged her when she needed to concentrate again which she was grateful for.

“And here to accept the donation to the Miranda Sommers-Gilbert scholarship fund is Elena Gilbert.” Carol smiled at her.

Elena plastered a fake, but believable, smile on her face as she walked up to join Carol at the front of the room to accept the check. “The Historical Society was my mom’s baby. She considered all of you family and would be both honored and touched by this gift.”

Suddenly a loud thump was heard from outside the room and everyone started to leave to see what had happened. Elena made to follow but was stopped by Kathrine who put a hand over her mouth.

“Nice dress, mind if I borrow it?” Kathrine smirked and knocked Elena out with a well-aimed hit the head.

XOXOXOX

Elena woke up with a throbbing head to Isobel talking on her phone and she heard her say, “I had to do what I was told. He wanted the moonstone and he wanted you.”

“Kidnapping? Really?” Elena groaned when Isobel hung up her phone.

As she sat up, she could see that whoever was driving were turning the car into a cemetery. When the driver stopped the car, he got out and opened the door for Isobel.

At first Elena refused to move until Isobel looked at her, “Just because you can’t be compelled doesn’t mean I can’t force you to come with me.”

“So, you’ve been compelled to betray Kathrine?” Elena asked as she got out of the car even though she already knew the answer.

“If I was. I couldn’t tell you.” Isobel started to lead Elena further into the cemetery.

“If you were clever you would be able to give me some hints but I guess you’re not as smart as you think you are.” Elena smirked.

Isobel didn’t answer as she walked over to a tombstone and kneeled in front of it. As she cleared some leaves from it, Elena could read out _In loving memory – Isobel Flemming – Jan 18 1978 – May 4 2007_.

“My parents, my grandparents, they put it here when it became clear that the police weren’t gonna find my body. They visit every week and they bring flowers, even though there’s no one buried here.” Isobel explained slowly. “The Isobel they knew is dead. So maybe there is a part of me that is buried here, the…the human part, the part that I abandoned when I... when I choose to become a vampire, the part that used to dream about the day that she’d know her daughter.”

“What?” Elena was very confused.

“And instead you get to meet the other part…” Isobel looked at her. “The part that would betray her own flesh and blood.”

Isobel’s phone started to ring and she quickly answered it. “Yes… Let her go?... I'm done?”

“Who was that?” Elena asked, not really that interested but it never hurt to ask.

“I'm so sorry, Elena. I was such a disappointment to you.” Isobel pulled off her necklace and gave it to Elena even as she screamed when she burst into flames and then falls dead to the ground in front of her grave.

Elena raised an unimpressed eyebrow and pocketed the necklace. She walked back to the car to see that the driver was nowhere to be found. Elena picked up a rock and broke the window so she could open the door to the car.

She refused to walk back to the boarding house so she felt really happy about being taught by a friend how to hotwire a car in her last life.

It took Elena almost an hour to get back to the boarding house and when she gets there she walked straight in to Damon’s bourbon, poured herself a glass and sat down on the couch in front of the fire place.

“Is that Isobel’s?” Stefan asked as he came into the room fifteen minutes later.

“Yup.” Elena looked at the necklace. “Is it weird that I'm not sad that she’s gone but sort of relived?”

“I can’t answer that.” Stefan shrugged.

“What I really want to know was why she let me go.” Elena murmured and pocketed the necklace again.

“Well, anything John told Isobel, we have to assume that Klaus knows, right?” Stefan theorized. “So, he knows that you won’t leave your friends and family and that you have us keeping you safe.”

“He knows I won’t run.” Elena murmured.

“Which is why we need to take some precautions, ‘Cause we got played, all of us.” Damon said as he walked in and placed some papers in Elena’s lap.

“What’s this?” Elena picked up the papers.

“It’s the deed to our house. It’s in Zach’s name.” Stefan explained. “As soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name.”

“You are giving me your house, why?” Elena looked at the Salvatore brothers.

“Isobel had the right idea with the safe house. You’ll just stay here until it’s over.” Stefan said. “That way, you can control who gets invited and who doesn't.”

“Although I’ll be super pissed if you lock me out.” Damon mock glared at her.

“But what if something happens to me, I mean, even if I get turned into a vampire, I'm still dead.” Elena shrugged. “Shouldn’t we have another failsafe or something?”

“What are you thinking?” Stefan wanted to know.

“Can both me and Jeremy sign this?” Elena looked at them. “That way it will still be vampire proof if something happens.”

“You will not die!” Damon growled and poured himself some more bourbon with jerky movements.

“We can’t know that, Damon.” Elena said gently. “I could be in a car accident, fall down the stairs or even have a heart attack.”

Elena jumped in fright when John suddenly gasped back to life from where Damon had put him. Damon vamp-sped over and pulled him up by his collar.

“I swear I had no idea what she was gonna do.” John swore with wide eyes. “I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.”

“Damon, could you be so kind and put him down.” Elena walked over to them. “He and I need to have a talk.”

Elena started to walk away, expecting John to follow her, which he did after Damon had let him down.

“I always knew that she and Kathrine were close, but I never realized that Isobel and her were working against me.” John told Elena after a while. “two of the world’s most uncaring and selfish vampires and yet they were genuinely friends.”

“If that is what you thought of her, why did you ever put your trust in her at all?” Elena scoffed softly.

“Because I was there when she gave birth to you, Elena.” John looked at her. “I saw how heartbroken she was to give you up. And because she was the first girl I ever loved and when she said she’d keep you safe… I believed her.”

“I think you believed her because you wanted it to be true.” Elena hummed.

“At this point, I will do whatever you want me to do.” John continued. “If you feel safer with me not around, then I’ll go.”

Elena didn’t answer at first so John stood up with a sad look. Elena turned to him with a serious look. “You screwed up quite epically in the last few months and I will never see you as my dad but… I might be able to learn not to hate you.”

John smiled at her, “Okay.”

XOXOXOX

Elena was about to unlock the door to the Gilbert house when her phone rang. She quickly unlocked the door and answered the phone, “Yellow.”

_“Am I supposed to answer with Orange or something?”_ Came Rose laughing voice from the phone.

“Rose!” Elena closed the door behind her with a smile on her face. “How’s Argentina with Lexi and Lee?”

_“It’s amazing!”_ Rose almost squealed. _“Lexi, Lee and me just got back from this really nice restaurant by the water and it was awesome!”_

“I'm so happy that you are enjoying yourself.” Elena kicked of her shoes and walked into the kitchen.

_“Thank you for reconnecting me with Lexi.”_ Rose said gratefully. _“I hadn’t realized how much I had missed her until I saw her again.”_

“You are very welcome.” Elena smiled. “But I assume you're not just calling to say thank you.”

“I really wanted to say thank you but you're right, it’s not the only reason for my call.” Rose murmured a little awkwardly. “I… I might have met a guy.”

“Eeeeep!” Elena squealed like a three-year-old on Christmas. “What’s his name? What does he look like? Have you been on a date yet? Has he kissed you? Have you kissed him? Have….”

_“Elena!”_ Rose interrupted with a laugh.

“Sorry.” Elena mumbled embarrassed.

_“To answer your questions; His name is Raphael, he’s tan, with dark hair and green eyes, taler then Stefan and has this absolutely dreamy accent.”_ Rose actually giggled as she told Elena about Raphael. _“Yes, he took me on a picknick in the park and he kissed me as he dropped me off at the house I'm staying at with Lexi and Lee.”_

“I'm so happy for you.” Elena gushed as she bounced around the kitchen.

_“I'm actually staying in Argentina to see where this is going.”_ Rose admitted nervously and hurriedly added. _“You can still call me if you need help with Klaus and…”_

“Rose!” Elena stopped her before she could start ramble. “Don’t worry about me or us, we have things under control. And we actually have a plan.”

The last part was mostly Elena’s plan to undagger Elijah and the rest she hadn’t figured out yet. Unknown to Elena a smile had spread across her face as she thought about Elijah.

_“But I promised to help.”_ Rose murmured.

“For the first time in 500 years you are not on the run and can enjoy life without worry.” Elena told her softly. “And I'm so very happy for you. As I said, don’t worry and remember that you will always have a home with us.”

_“You are so very special.”_ Rose informed her. _“And you’ll always be my friend.”_

“And you will be mine.” Elena said back. “But don’t forget to come visit and do bring your boy toy.”

“Bye Elena.” Rose laughed and hung up the phone.

“Good talk?” Jeremy’s voice came from behind her making Elena jump around and slip, falling to the floor with a huff.

“Don’t sneak up on me, Jere.” Elena playfully glared at her laughing younger brother.

“But you are so adorable with that look on your face.” Jeremy smiled brightly at her.

“You take that back!” Elena pointed a finger at him.

“Hmmm…” Jeremy sounded thoughtful then he smirked. “Nope.”

“Oh, that’s it!” Elena got up and started to chase Jeremy around the kitchen. “I'm going to tickle you until you beg for mercy!”

“You have to catch me first!” Jeremy called back as he dodged his older sister.

They ran around the kitchen and the living room for a while, laughing and trading mock insults back and forth until Elena suddenly took a leap and tackled Jeremy over the couch.

“Gotcha!” Elena called out triumphantly and started to tickle him.

“No!....Hahahaha….stop…” Jeremy laughed and tried to get away from his sisters’ agile fingers. “I give, I give, mercy!”

The both of them collapsed on the couch, laughing and catching their breath. ‘Oh, how I miss spending time with my little brother’, Elena thought with a bright smile as she cuddled into his side.

“I love you so, so much, little brother.” Elena murmured softly.

“I love you to, Lena, more than you know.” Jeremy pulled her closer.

“Hey Jeremy?” Elena spoke up after a while of them sitting in silence.

“Yeah?” Jeremy hummed.

“Would you like to own the boarding house with me?” Elena asked quietly.

“What?” Jeremy almost choked on his own saliva.

“Well…” Elena proceeded to tell him about her day and Damon and Stefan’s idea about the boarding house being a safe house. “It was my idea to make us co-owners, never now if one of us is going to have an accident or something.”

Jeremy was quiet for a long while until he said, “So, when are we doing this?”

“Tomorrow before school.” Elena smiled and hugged him tighter while kissing him on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“There is very little I wouldn’t do for you.” Jeremy hummed and kissed her head.

“Would you help me commit murder and then hide the body?” Elena asked with a giggle.

“Absolutely.” Jeremy laughed. “And I know you would do the same for me.”

“Any time, little brother, any time.” Elena agreed.

XOXOXOX

The next morning Elena, Jeremy and Bonnie were standing inside the boarding house with a lawyer with Elena and Jeremy ready to sign the deed to the house.

“Please sign here and here.” The lawyer indicated to two lines.

“Okay.” Elena signed first and then she gave the pen to Jeremy.

“So, this place is all yours?” Bonnie asked. “They just gave it to you?”

“For now.” Elena smiled. “Me and Jeremy being sole owners means that we are the only ones who can invite people in, if you know what I mean.”

“Your own personal safe house.” Bonnie nodded.

“That’s the idea.” Jeremy hummed as he gave the pen back to the lawyer.

“Wouldn’t want to clean it.” Bonnie said making Elena and Jeremy laugh.

“Come on.” Elena started to walk to the door to lead the lawyer out. “Let’s make the Salvatore brothers come in from the cold.”

“Do we have to?” Jeremy whined playfully.

“Thank you, Mr. Henry.” Elena shook the lawyer’s hand and then he turned to leave.

Damon and Stefan walked up to the threshold but couldn’t enter due to an invisible force keeping them out.

“Well, at least we know it work.” Jeremy smirked.

“Are you going to let us in?” Stefan asked.

“Not yet.” Elena said before Jeremy could invite them in.

“What?” Damon looked at her in annoyance.

“I need you two to promise me that we will have no more lies, no more secrets and that we will talk about things instead of going behind the others backs.” Elena said strongly as she looked at them seriously.

“We just want you safe.” Stefan told her.

“And I want to keep you all safe too.” Elena turned to Damon who had nodded in agreement to her conditions. “Would you like to come in, Damon?”

“I would love to.” Damon smiled at her, but you could see the happiness in his eyes at being chosen before his brother.

“Elena…” Stefan started, but when Elena just looked at him with her arms crossed, he sighed. “Okay.”

“Good.” Elena smiled. “Come in, Stefan.”

Bonnie walked in from another room holding a maroon colored leather jacket. That was when Damon finally registered what Elena was wearing and nodded in appreciation. She was wearing black skinny jeans with a dark grey t-shirt tucked into them, a light grey scarf and black seven-inch heeled wedge shoes.

“Love the outfit, spitfire.” Damon complimented.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled brightly.

“There is just one thing missing.” Damon murmured. “Wait here.”

Elena watched as he walked away as she shrugged on her leather jacket and Jeremy smirked at her and said, “You just want to be tall for once, that’s why you wear those heels.”

“Jeremy, little brother.” Elena smiled sweetly. “Get fucked.”

Damon walked back in as Jeremy started to laugh, “Here, these will look really good with you outfit.”

Elena accepted the Ray Bans that Damon were holding out to her and put them on. She had always liked pilot styled sunglasses but these were really fucking awesome.

“He’s right.” Bonnie piped up. “You looked really good in those.”

“Thank you.” Elena smiled and turned to Damon. “I’ll give them back after school.”

“Wait, what?” Stefan stood up straighter.

“We’re going to school, Bonnie’s driving.” Elena explained.

“Huh?” Damon asked softly.

“No, no, no.” Stefan denied. “We didn’t create a safe house for you to leave it.”

“I can’t just put my life on hold because something _could_ happen.” Elena scoffed. “And I have Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy with me at school.”

“Always.” Jeremy agreed.

“Forever.” Bonnie piped up with a smile.

Elena smiled brightly and almost laughed at them unknowingly repeating the Mikaelson siblings promise to each other.

“Klaus is still out there.” Stefan worried. “We know that.”

“But we don’t know where.” Elena smiled gently at him, knowing that some of his and Damon’s whole ‘protect Elena’ thing come from being raised in the 1800’ where woman was seen as unable to protect themselves.

“I really do appreciate what you guys are doing.” Elena continued softly. “But I can’t be a prisoner in a safe house.”

“Yeah, you would start climbing the walls after a few hours.” Damon chuckled.

“Isn't next to Bonnie one of the safest places to be for Lena?” Jeremy asked. “I mean, Bonnie is super witch, right?”

“I guess you're right.” Stefan murmured.

“You coming to school today or are you staying home with your brother?” Elena asked Stefan as she walked out of the boarding house.

“I’ll come with you to school.” Stefan decided and joined the others at Bonnie’s car.

On the way to school Elena told them about her talk with Rose and her staying in Argentina with the guy she had met.

“I'm happy for her.” Bonnie smiled and the boys agreed.

“Did you know that Lexi tried to set Rose up with our very own Stefan a few decades ago?” Elena smirked at Stefan.

“Really?” Bonnie giggled.

“So, what happened?” Jeremy wanted to know as Bonnie parked her car in the school parking lot.

“We just didn’t click I guess.” Stefan shrugged with an awkward look.

“What he means is that he was his usual brooding self and Rose prefers bad boys.” Elena laughed.

“I've gotten better.” Stefan defended.

“Yes, after my sister pulled you out of your shell.” Jeremy chuckled. “Anyway, I've got math’s, see ya later.”

“Bye Jere.” Elena called after him.

Elena, Bonnie and Stefan walked into the history class room and sat down as they waited for Alaric to arrive. Elena pulled out a poster for the 60s dance and showed it to Stefan who shook his head in disapproval.

Elena scoffed quietly in his direction before she turned to show the poster to Bonnie who nodded with a smile. Elena turned back and smirked at Stefan as she planed her outfit in her head.

“Hello class.” Alaric said as he walked in. “What are we learning today?”

“With the decade dance tonight, we’ve been covering the sixties all week.” Dana said out loud.

“Right.” Alaric hummed. “The sixties.”

Alaric looked at Elena and started at her for a while with an odd look in his eyes before he almost shook himself and turned towards the board.

“The, uh, ahem…” Alaric wrote on the board. “The sixties. I wish there was something good I could say about the sixties, but… Actually, they kinda sucked. Except for the Beatles, of course.”

“We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow subma….” Elena trailed of in her humming when she noticed everyone looking at her. “Heh, sorry.”

“Thank you for that, Elena.” Alaric chuckled.

“You're very welcome.” Elena beamed.

“As I was saying, the Beatles made it bearable. Uh, what else was there?” Alaric murmured. “The Cuban missile thing, the… we walked on the moon. There was Watergate.”

“Watergate was in the seventies, Ric. I-I mean, Mr. Saltzman.” Elena said even as she thought that he was acting very strange. She tried to figure out what was going on with him but it was just out of reach.

“Right. It all kinda mushes together up here, the sixties, seventies.” Alaric gestured to his head. “Thank you, Elena.”

The rest of the day passed by quickly until lunch. Elena was still trying to figure out what was going on with Alaric but nothing was making any sense, maybe he was just having a bad day.

After she had grabbed her tray with food Elena walked over to where she had spotted Bonnie and Jeremy sitting.

“Hey guys.” Elena sat down beside Jeremy and opposite of Bonnie.

“Hey Lena.” Jeremy smiled slightly at her.

“Have you heard from Jenna?” Elena asked.

“It looks like she’s staying on campus for a while.” Jeremy shrugged and got up. “I'm late for class.”

“Is he okay?” Elena asked as she watched him walk away with a worried frown.

“Yeah, I just told him he had to dress up for the dance tonight and he got all pouty.” Bonnie smiled but something was of about it.

“But he would look so cute.” Elena chuckled.

“Hey Elena, there you are.” Dana walked up to their table.

“Here I am.” Elena said back.

“Okay, this is going to sound freaky, but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're doing to the dance tonight.” Dana almost gushed.

“Oh, she’s going.” Bonnie smirked.

“Bonnie, don’t try to set me up with some unknown guy.” Elena protested.

“You could at least meet him.” Dana giggled like a child. “He’ll be at the dance tonight. Look for him. His name is Klaus.”

“I'm sorry, what did you say?” Elena gasped.

“His name’s Klaus.” Dana said again. “I know the name’s stupid, but I swear he’s hot.”

“Where is he?” Bonnie started to look around. “Is he here?”

“I don’t know.” Dana murmured.

“She’s been compelled.” Elena concluded.

“But he wants to know if you’ll save him the last dance.” Dana gave a small squeal. “How cute is that?”

“Cute isn’t what I would call it.” Bonnie murmured as she pulled Elena up and started to drag her out of the school.

“Bonnie, my lunch.” Elena pouted, she was hungry, damn it.

“I’ll tell Damon or Stefan to cook you something at the boarding house.” Bonnie said as she pulled out her phone to call Stefan. “Hey Stefan, don’t talk, just meet us at the car.”

Twenty minutes later Elena was sitting in the parlor at the boarding house sipping some bourbon as Bonnie told Damon and Stefan what had happened with Dana. Elena looked at her glass and thought, ‘Maybe I should stop drinking so much bourbon?... Nah’.

Elena tuned back into the conversation when she heard Damon say, “So we go to the dance, we find him.”

“Really? How are we going to do that?” Stefan looked at his older brother with a deadpan look on his face. “We don’t even know what he looks like.”

“Something tells me he’s not going to be sixteen and pimply.” Damon huffed as he looked back at Stefan.

“He could be anywhere at any time. He compelled somebody at school.” Stefan reminded them all as he looked at Bonnie and Elena. “I guess it’s not as safe as you guys thought, huh?”

“That’s it!” Elena said and hit Stefan over the head with a pillow just as Alaric walked in. Elena kept hitting Stefan with the pillow as she ordered him, “Apologize this instant or I’ll…I’ll…I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” Stefan laughed as he finally managed to get the pillow away from Elena.

“I don’t know yet but it won’t be pleasant.” Elena sat down with a pout and her arms crossed. “Damon, my favorite Salvatore, get me some bourbon, please.”

“Of course, your highness.” Damon bowed to her mockingly and poured her some more bourbon.

“Sorry I'm late.” Alaric told them as he watched Damon hand Elena the glass.

“It’s okay, as long as I have my bourbon, I don’t really care.” Elena said as she sipped her drink. Then she smirked as she saw Bonnie doing her very best not to laugh and started to stroke her glass while muttering, “Mine, my own, my precious.”

That was it for Bonnie as she fell of the couch and holding her stomach as she laughed until tears were leaking out of her eyes.

“Where you dropped on your head as a kid?” Stefan asked as he looked at Elena.

“Yes, how’d you know?” Elena asked with an innocent smile.

“I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight.” Damon turned to Alaric. “Klaus made his first move.”

“I just have one teeny tiny question.” Elena spoke up. “If we do find Santa, what are we supposed to do?”

“Santa?” Alaric asked as he looked at her.

“She’s talking about Klaus.” Damon chuckled. “First time Rose told us that he existed Elena assumed she was talking about Santa Klaus.”

“You did what?” Bonnie started to laugh again.

“Well as I told Rose and Damon; How should I know?” Elena huffed defensively. “I mean there are vampires, werewolves, witches and rings that brings people back from the dead.”

“And then when Rose said that Klaus was a legend Elena muttered that so was Santa.” Damon smirked at her.

“Never change, Elena.” Bonnie told her with a bright smile. “As for what we should do about Klaus, I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If you can find him, I can kill him.”

“That’s not going to be easy.” Alaric spoke up. “I mean, he is the biggest baddest vampire around.”

“Alaric has a point. I mean, what if he…” Damon rushed at Bonnie only for her to throw him to the other side of the room without even moving.

“Well, I'm impressed.” Stefan smirked at his brother.

“It doesn’t matter if he's an Original. I can take anyone who comes at me.” Bonnie declared. “I can kill him, Elena, I know I can.”

“No.” Damon said as he saw Elena open her mouth to say something. “You are not handing yourself over to him.”

“What?” Alaric said shocked.

“She still thinks handing herself over to Klaus is the best plan of action.” Damon scoffed. “Which is why she isn’t allowed to make the plans.”

“Damon, he killed Kathrine’s entire family because she defied him.” Elena looked at him. “I don’t want to survive if it means the rest of you die, okay?”

“You would actually help Klaus with the ritual?” Alaric looked at her with shock written all over his face.

“As long as everyone in my family and my friends are safe? In a heartbeat.” Elena smirked at the look on his face. “Haven't you learned by now that I do not care if some vampire would massacre the town as long as those I care about are safe.”

“Did you know she actually asked Jeremy if he wanted to go on a killing spree with her on her birthday?” Bonnie asked.

“What?!” Elena threw her hands up at the looks she received. “It could be a bonding experience for me and Jeremy!”

“Elena, your crazy is showing.” Stefan chuckled.

“I'm not crazy.” Elena pouted. “I'm just… you know…slightly unhinged.”

“I’ll go and put you down as a chaperone for tonight, Damon, and I’ll see the rest of you at the dance.” Alaric said. What none of them noticed were the looks he was sending at Elena as he walked out of the boarding house.

“So…” Elena piped up after a while. “What am I supposed to wear to the dance?”

“Oh shit, I need to get home and change!” Bonnie called out as he got up and ran to the door. “I’ll see you guys at the dance.”

“That answer wasn’t helpful.” Elena hummed with a shrug.

“Come on.” Stefan chuckled. “you can look through some of Damon’s and mine’s relatives’ old clothes.”

“Oki doki.” Elena bounced up ad followed Stefan up the stairs and into his room.

Ten minutes later Stefan carried in three boxen full of clothes so Elena could, hopefully, find something so wear. Elena happily started to look through them when Stefan put them down, hunting for something special.

“Your relatives were such packrats.” Elena chuckled at pulled out a dress that was black and with and looked like it would reach her mid-thigh.

“You know it’s not too late to back out, right?” Stefan asked her gently.

“And miss all the action, even though I don’t agree with the plan?” Elena smirked at him. “I don’t think so, pretty boy.”

“Pretty boy?” Stefan asked as Elena pulled out some white leather, high heeled, knee high, gogo boots.

“Well, you are kinda pretty.” Elena shrugged.

“She's not wrong brother.” Damon piped up from the door way. “You are a little pretty.”

“I'm not pretty!” Stefan denied with a small whine.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Elena gently patted his cheek as she walked past him to the bathroom.

“I'm not pretty.” Stefan grumbled again as he picked out his clothes for the dance.

“Of course, you're not.” Damon smirked at him and when he saw the pout on his little brothers’ face, he started to laugh.

XOXOXOX

Elena and Stefan arrived at the dance with Damon who hurried inside as soon as he had parked his car.

“Why did we let Damon drive?” Stefan asked as they slowly walked towards the school.

“Because he has a nice car.” Elena shrugged with a smile, which grew bigger when she saw Bonnie and Jeremy. “Hey you two.”

“You look gorgeous, Lena.” Jeremy smiled and pulled his siter into a hug.

“And you look very dashing.” Elena hugged back, then she hugged Bonnie. “You look amazing, Bon.”

“You too.” Bonnie chirped happily.

“Are you guys ready to do this?” Stefan asked and offered Bonnie his arm.

“Let’s kick some ass!” Elena laughed as she took Jeremy’s arm and the four of them walked into the school.

They walked in and made their way to Damon who was standing close to the stage, but before they could ask if he had seen anything Dana walked up on the stage.

“Thanks for being here, everybody. We have a special shout-out tonight.” Dana said as they group stopped in front of the stage. “This is for Elena, from Klaus.”

_Dedicated to the one I love_ by The Mamas and The Papas started to play, stunning Elena.

“That was a lame, cheap shot.” Damon scoffed. “He's just trying to bait us.”

“Are you actually swaying and humming along?” Bonnie asked as she turned to look at Elena.

“Yeah, sorry, but I kinda like this song for some reason.” Elena smiled, not noticing the pleased look on Alaric’s face. “Anyway, I know everyone here.”

“Maybe he's not here.” Stefan theorized. “Just wants us to believe that he his.”

“It’s a party, people.” Damon told them. “Blend. Let him come to us.”

“Good idea.” Bonnie grabbed Jeremy’s arm.

“No, no, I really don’t feel like dancing.” Jeremy stuttered out.

“Too bad.” Bonnie smirked and pulled him out on the dance floor.

“There’s Ric.” Damon hummed. “I’ll be back.”

“Bye Terminator.” Elena giggled as Stefan led her out to the dance floor.

After having danced for a while, Elena noticed Caroline arriving with a guy from the football team. “Caroline’s here, she doesn’t know what’s going on.”

“I'm on it.” Stefan gestured for Damon to take his place as he walked over to Caroline.

“How are you doing?” Damon asked as he took her hand.

“Feeling like I'm missing something.” Elena shrugged. “You?”

“Cool as a cucumber. Come on, remember the last decade dance?” Damon chuckled. “When you tortured a vampire that had tried to eat you?”

“Oh yeah.” Elena laughed. “That was fun.”

“Yes, it was.” Damon spun her around.

“You're good at this.” Elena complimented.

“I've got moves you’ve never seen.” Damon smirked to hide his embarrassment, making Elena laugh.

After a while Elena decided to go to the drink table for some punch and was joined by Jeremy. But he quickly leaves, making Elena wonder if she had done something wrong.

“Everything alright?” Stefan asked as he saw the sad look on her face.

“I'm not sure.” Elena murmured. “Did I do something to hurt Jeremy?”

“I’ll talk to him.” Stefan assured her.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled in relief.

Half an hour later Elena scanned the hall for Bonnie and when she saw her, she made her way over, “I need to talk to you.”

Elena and Bonnie made their way outside, away from everyone else, “How could you not tell me?!”

“Because I knew how’d you react.” Bonnie said.

“No! No way, it’s not an option!” Elena glared at her friend.

“It’s our only option.” Bonnie told her.

“No, it’s not.” Elena denied. “I could just give myself up and this would be over with.”

“You can’t, you would die!” Bonnie chastised.

“But it’s okay of you die?!” Elena asked incredulously. “Your life is more important than mine.”

“Answer me one question… if the situation was reversed, would you do the same for me?” Bonnie asked gently as she looked at Elena, and when she didn’t answer she continued. “So, you know why I have to.”

“No, please Bonnie, no!” Elena begged. “We’ll find another way. Please.”

“Oh, Elena.” Bonnie put her and on Elena’s arm. “I don’t deserve your friendship after everything I have done, but you still forgave me and I love you for that.”

“Elena!” Alaric ran up to them before Elena could say anything.

“What is it?” Elena asked as she turned towards him.

“He has Jeremy.” Alaric told them.

“What?!” Elena gasped at the same time as Bonnie.

“Yeah, Klaus has Jeremy.” Alaric repeated as he started to lead them through a side door and into a hallway. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Elena asked, feeling suspicious.

“Just a little further.” Alaric murmured.

“Something is not right.” Elena declared softly.

“Where’s Jeremy?!” Bonnie asked strongly, having learned not to doubt Elena’s gut feelings.

“I just had to get away from that dance. The sixties, ugh. Not my decade.” Alaric stopped and started to laugh. “I mean, whose call was that, anyway? I much prefer the twenties. The style, the parties, the jazz.”

“The twenties sound awesome.” Elena hummed in agreement.

“Elena?!” Bonnie berated her.

“What it does.” Elena shrugged.

“Are you being compelled?” Bonnie asked as she turned towards Alaric.

“Nope.” Alaric smirked. “Try again.”

“You’re not Alaric.” Elena put everything together. “You're Klaus.”

“And we have a winner.” Alaric laughed. “Ding, ding, ding.”

“But how?” Elena looked shocked.

“Just relax, Elena. I'm not here to hurt you. You're not on my hit list tonight.” Klaus smiled gently at her before he turned and glared at Bonnie. “But you are.”

As Klaus walked towards Bonnie, she threw him against the wall with her power but he quickly got up.

“Now did I mention that I knew a witch? You're going to have to hit me a lot harder than that.” Klaus rushed at her again and she threw him at a display case, smashing the glass, he fell to the ground but laughed. As he got up, he smirked at Bonnie. “By all means… Fire away!”

“Bonnie!” Elena called out worried.

“If you kill this body, I’ll just get a new one.” Klaus taunted. “Maybe Jeremy.”

“Go. Run. Go!” Bonnie grabbed Elena’s hand and pulled her through a door, which she then closed with her powers.

“What happened?” Damon ran up to them.

“Klaus is playing ‘Invasion of the body snatchers’.” Elena murmured.

“What?” Damon looked at her.

“Klaus is in Alaric’s body.” Bonnie explained. “He’s possessing it or something.”

“Elena, go find Stefan, we could need the help.” Damon tole her. “Me and Bonnie will hold Klaus of until you return.”

“Don’t die!” Elena ordered them both and ran off to find Stefan.

It took her awhile to find Stefan but when she finally did the two of them ran back towards where Elena had last seen Damon and Bonnie.

“There you are.” Damon said calmly as he walked out a door in front of them.

“Where’s Bonnie?” Elena demanded to know.

“She’s doing what she has to.” Damon stated.

“Where is she?” Stefan asked slowly.

“Stefan, let her do this.” Damon told his younger brother.

Elena didn’t stay to listen to Damon, she rushed of towards where she could hear stuff breaking but as she arrived, Bonnie shut the door so she couldn’t go in.

“Bonnie, no!” Elena banged on the door.

Elena watched the fight between Klaus and Bonnie even as her and Stefan tried to open the door. Bonnie looked at Elena with a smile before she turned back towards Klaus. Suddenly Bonnie bent backwards with a jerk and fell to the floor and Stefan could open the doors.

“No! Please, no!” Elena rushed over and fell to her knees by Bonnie and pulled her into her arms. “Bonnie, please wake up!”

“I'm sorry.” Elena heard Klaus whisper and felt a hand on her cheek briefly.

“Please wake up.” Elena begged as she cried. “Please…”

“It’s too late, I'm sorry.” Stefan with pain in his eyes as he watched Elena cry.

“Stefan, get Elena out of here.” Damon ordered as he arrived. “I’ll deal with the body.”

“What do you mean ‘deal with it’?” Elena asked with tears running down her cheeks.

“The sheriff can’t know about this.” Damon explained kindly. “Lats thing we need is another mysterious death.”

“Can we still have our own burial?” Elena asked quietly. “Bonnie deserves at least that much.”

“Get her home.” Damon said to Stefan. “I’ll take care of Bonnie.”

“What about Jeremy?” Elena started to look around in worry.

“I’ll find him.” Damon promised.

Stefan lifted Elena up into his arms as she cried silently and vamp-sped them to the boarding house.

Elena started into the fireplace at the boarding house with tears running down her face. When she had arrived at the boarding house she had changed into a pair of Stefan’s grey sweatpants and one of Damon’s dark v-necks. She didn’t know how long she had been sitting there and she didn’t really care.

“Hey.” Stefan walked up to her with a glass. “Here, drink this.”

“What is it?” Elena murmured.

“Bourbon, with a little extra.” Stefan said softly.

“This is all my fault.” Elena took the cup. “If I had just gone to Klaus…”

“This is not your fault, Elena.” Stefan told her. “This was Klaus.”

Elena didn’t say anything, while she wanted to hate Klaus for killing Bonnie, who wasn’t actually dead, she couldn’t. He just wanted to be whole again and Elena couldn’t blame him for that.

“Fuck!” Elena stood up and threw the glass into the fire.

“Hey, hey, calm down, please.” Damon came in and pulled her into a hug.

“You went behind my back again.” Elena hit him on the chest.

“You need to listen to me and prepare for what I'm about to say.” Damon grabbed her hands and restrained them so she couldn’t hit him anymore. “Bonnie had to die. Klaus using Alaric’s body was a total surprise. She wasn’t prepared for that; he wasn’t going to stop and we weren’t going to be able to stop him until he knew she was dead. He had to believe it.”

“What are you saying?” Elena sniffled quietly.

“She cast a spell.” Damon looked at her earnestly. “Bonnie is okay.”

“Really?” Elena looked up at him with big shining eyes filled with fragile hope.

“Yes, and if you skype your brother, you could talk to her.” Damon smiled as he watched Elena run out of the room so she could do exactly that.

Elena couldn’t sit still as she waited for the call to connect, but when it did, she almost slumped down in relief, “Bonnie!”

“I'm so, so sorry, Elena.” Bonnie apologized softly.

“It’s okay.” Elena assured her with a wet chuckle. “I’m just so happy that you are alive.”

“There wasn’t enough time for me to tell you.” Bonnie cried.

“Damon explained it all.” Elena smiled slightly.

Fifteen minutes later, Elena walked into Damon’s bedroom to see him standing by the window.

“Look, Klaus had to think she was dead.” Damon defended himself as he turned towards her. “Your reaction had to be real.”

“I understand why you did what you did.” Elena murmured. “And Bonnie is alive, so…”

“Here's to duplicity.” Damon held up his glass of bourbon and took a sip.

“But let’s get one thing straight.” Elena said seriously. “Bonnie will _not_ die for me, I will not let that happen.”

“We need to kill Klaus, Elena. Real Klaus.” Damon maintained. “Who will probably be coming to pay you a visit soon, now that he knows that Bonnie is dead. She’s the only one who can do it.”

“We’ll find another way.” Elena attested strongly.

“I hope so.” Damon muttered lowly.

“I'm sorry that I it you in the chest…repeatedly.” Elena rubbed the back of her neck and shifted.

“Apology accepted.” Damon smiled, then he turned serious again. “Let me be clear about something; If it comes down to you and the witch again, I will gladly let Bonnie die. I will always choose you.”

“Damon…” Elena started sadly.

“I know, you do not feel the same way.” Damon touched her cheek with a sad smile. “And I have accepted that.

Elena looked at him for a while and then she murmured quietly, “Good night, Damon.”

“Good night, Elena.” Damon whispered back.

Elena slowly walked down the stairs, she looked around to see if anyone was close by and when she didn’t see anyone, she slipped into the basement. She walked over and opened the door to the cell where Damon and Stefan had placed Elijah’s body and removed the dagger.

**A/N: End of a _very long_ chapter!**

**Hope you all liked it :)**

**Freya: 3**

**Nora: 1**

**April Young: 1**

**OC: 1**

**Someone else?**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	22. The Last Klaus Day

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

As Elena sat waiting for Elijah to wake up after undaggering him, she was thinking about what was going to happen now. She had just started to hum quietly to herself when Elijah suddenly woke up.

“Elijah.” Elena rushed over to him.

“Elena!” Elijah grabbed her face and looked at her in worry.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Elena placed her hands over his.

“Are you alright?!” Elijah looked down at her midsection where the arrow had hit her.

“I'm okay.” Elena reassured him softly.

“I can’t – I can’t breathe!” Elijah’s body spasmed. “What’s happening to me?”

Elijah rushed over to the door but slammed into the doorway and as Elena ran over to him to hold him up, he muttered, “I can’t… I can’t be in this house.”

Before Elena could invite him in, he slammed into another wall and disappeared. Elena rushed after him and went to the front door to see Elijah crouched outside. She quickly ran out to him to help him to his feet.

“What happened?” Elijah asked as he leaned against her a little.

“Shh,” Elena hushed and gestured that Damon and Stefan could hear. “I’ll tell you, but not here.”

“Then let’s go.” Elijah walked towards her car.

“Elijah,” Elena walked up to him and handed him the dagger. “I believe that belongs to you, sort of.”

Elena got into the car and started it and Elijah joined her swiftly, “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Elena murmured as she drove away. “There should be some blood bags in the glove compartment.”

A few minutes later Elena parked her car at the side of the road, “You look better.”

“I'm feeling better.” Elijah smiled at her, then he frowned. “Where did the Salvatore’s and the hunter get the dagger?”

“I’ll tell you everything.” Elena promised. “But we have to work together, please.”

“I don’t think the Salvatore brothers seems inclined to do that.” Elijah sipped from the blood bag.

“They don’t get to decide anymore.” Elena declared.

Before Elijah could say anything to that Elena’s phone started to buzz. “Speak quickly.”

“ _Where are you?_ ” Stefan asked and Elena knew that Elijah could hear both sides of the conversation. “ _Are you okay?_ ”

“I'm absolutely fine, why wouldn’t I be?” Elena asked.

“ _Where’s Elijah?_ ” Stefan wondered.

“Why do you think I would know?” Elena hummed as she drummed her fingers against the wheel.

“Ever since we daggered him you have been trying to sneak down and undagger him.” Stefan groaned in annoyance. “And now he's gone and so are you. Of course, I think you have something to do with it.”

“He never deserved to be daggered in the first place, Stefan.” Elena growled. “And let me remind you that between you and Elijah you are the one who had me shot with a crossbow.”

“Elena, please…” As Elena listen to Stefan, she didn’t see the appreciative look that Elijah was sending her.

“Enough, Stefan.” Elena interrupted. “This is my decision, please respect it, and make sure that Damon doesn’t do anything stupid. I’ll be in touch.”

Elena handed the phone to Elijah as a sign of trust after she had hung up and started to drive again.

“He’s here.” Elena informed Elijah after a few minutes.

“Klaus is here?” Elijah asked to confirm.

“Yeah.” Elena started to chuckle and at Elijah’s look she explained the whole her thinking Santa was real when Rose told them about Klaus being real.

Elijah burst out laughing when Elena was done explaining. “I'm never getting that picture out of my head.”

“I can’t really say anything about that.” Elena shrugged with a chuckle. “When I met him, he was in Alaric’s body.”

“Of course, he was.” Elijah put his head back with a sigh. “It’s one of his favorite tricks.”

“So, I assume by that he is not a one trick pony?” Elena groaned.

“Sadly, you assume correctly.” Elijah smiled at her.

“What is he going to do next?” Elena asked softly.

“Drive to the Lockwood mansion.” Elijah directed without telling her anything.

As she drove Elena told Elijah about where the Salvatore brothers had gotten the dagger and what had been going on since he had been daggered.

When they arrived a while later, Elijah knocked on the door to the Lockwood mansion and smiled charmingly at Carol when she opened the door.

“Elijah, Elena!” Carol said surprised and Elijah’s rough appearance. “What are you doing here? What happened?”

“I've had a bit of an incident, Carol.” Elijah answered vaguely. “I'm hoping you could help.”

“Well, I'm on my way to a meeting, so I…” Carol started to say before Elijah interrupted.

Elijah looked her in the eyes as he compelled her, “It won’t take but a minute of your time.”

“Of course.” Carol smiled at them. “Anything you need.”

“Well, first thing first.” Elijah said as they entered the home. “I'm going to need a change of clothes.”

“You could try one of my husband’s suits.” Carol offered. “I haven't boxed them up yet.”

“Wonderful.” Elijah smiled and watched as she walked upstairs.

“How did you know she's not on vervain?” Elena asked with her head tilted to the side.

“Because I'm the one who got her off it.” Elijah admitted with a smirk. “Right before your friends killed me. Twice.”

“I can never apologize enough for that.” Elena murmured sadly.

“I do not blame you, Elena.” Elijah placed a gentle hand on her cheek. “If you'll excuse me, I’ll be down in a moment.”

Elena tried to control the butterflies in her stomach and the need to smile brightly as she watched him walk up the stairs. She couldn’t explain the warmth in her chest or the tingle in her body when she was close to Elijah, was it a good feeling or a bad feeling?

Elena shook her head and walked into the living room while she waited for Elijah to come back down.

“Elena?” Elena heard Elijah call her name.

“In here.” Elena said and then she groaned as she saw Elijah walk in in one of Mayor Lockwoods old suits. “Now I feel really underdressed.”

“You look fine.” Elijah smiled at her, then the smile dropped. “So, I assume that the Martin witches are no longer with us.”

“No, I'm sorry.” Elena looked down. “Luka died when a spell him and his father did, backfired and Jonas was killed by Stefan when he tried to come after me.”

“And Katerina?” Elijah asked. “She would have been released from my compulsion when I died.”

“Klaus took her.” Elena informed him. “She might be dead.”

“I doubt that. Not Klaus’ style.” Elijah gave a weird smile. “Death would be too easy for her after what she did.”

“I don’t understand.” Elena looked confused. “You say you want Klaus dead, but you still made Kathrine pay for betraying him.”

“I have my own reasons for wanting Katerina to pay. There was a time… I’d have done anything for Klaus.” Elijah stared out the window with a faraway look as he explained some of his history with Klaus and Kathrine.

“Klaus is your brother…” Elena muttered softly.

“Yes, he is. I may be a little behind on the times, but I believe the term you're searching for is ‘O.M.G.’” Elijah sipped some tea which Carol had brought him before she left.

Elena giggled, then it turned into a full-blown laugh, “You get a gold star for that deliverance.”

Elijah smiled at her from behind his teacup as she started to calm down.

“So, you and your brother are the Originals then?” Elena asked even if she knew the answer.

“My father was a wealthy land owner in a village in Eastern Europe.” Elijah explained patiently. “Our mother bore seven children.”

“You have six siblings?” Elena asked shocked. “I don’t know if I should be jealous of you or pity you.”

“Our whole family was human in the beginning. Our origin as vampires is a very long story, Elena.” Elijah told her even as he smiled softly at her. “Just know… We’re the oldest vampires in the world. We are the Original family and from us all vampires were created.”

“But Klaus is you brother, how can you want him dead?” Elena asked slowly, not being able to even imagen wanting Jeremy dead.

“I need some air.” Elijah stood up and offered Elena his arm. “I'm still feeling a tad… dead.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to ask uncomfortable questions.” Elena took the offered arm.

“As you’ve seen, nothing can kill an Original. Not sun, nor fire, not even a werewolf bite.” Elijah told her as they walked around the Lockwood property. “Only the wood from one special tree. A tree my family made sure to burn.”

“That’s where the white ash for the dagger comes from.” Elena nodded in understanding.

“Yes. The witches won’t allow anything truly immortal walk the earth.” Elijah explained. “Every creature needs to have a weakness in order to maintain balance.”

“Who are they to decide what counts as balance and not.” Elena muttered annoyed. “Why is Klaus so obsessed with breaking the so called ‘sun and moon curse’?”

“Why do you say it like that?” Elijah looked intrigued, then he continued. “The curse of the sun and the moon, it’s all so… biblical-sounding, don’t you think?”

Elena tightened her arm around Elijah’s as he continued to tell her about the past.

“So, I was right.” Elena hummed with a smile. “There is a curse tied to the moonstone but it has nothing to do with the sun and the moon.”

“You're right.” Elijah looked pleasantly surprised. “How did you figure it out?”

“I figured it out when I thought about the daylight jewelry some vampires have.” Elena told him softly. “If there was a sun and moon curse the daylight jewelry wouldn’t work because a witch can’t negate another witches’ curse by charming something else.”

“You are a delight.” Elijah smiled at her proudly.

“Thank you.” Elena mumbled with a blush.

“Klaus and I faked the sun and moon curse dating back over a thousand years.” Elijah told her.

“So what is the real curse?” Elena wondered.

“The real one’s is much worse.” Elijah sighed sadly. “It’s a curse place on Klaus.”

“What?” Elena muttered.

“Klaus has been trying to break it for the last thousand years and you are his only hope.” Elijah looked at her.

“Me and Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Elena giggled. “What is this curse?”

“Your phone will not stop its incessant buzzing.” Elijah pulled the phone from his pocket and gave it to her. “Answer it, please.”

Elena quickly spoke with Stefan and hung up, turning to Elijah. “Klaus went after Jenna, I have to go to her.”

“Hurry back, we have more to talk about.” Elijah kissed the back off her hand.

“Thank you.” Elena called over her shoulder as she ran to her car.

When she arrived at the boarding house, she pulled Jenna into a hug with a sigh of relief. “I'm so glad that you are alright.”

“I'm fine, just a little shook up.” Jenna assured her. “I've missed a lot, haven't I?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” Elena chuckled.

“Is Ric gonna be okay?” Jenna asked softly.

“We don’t know.” Elena answered honestly. “But I have a feeling that he’ll be okay.”

“Ric…eh…Klaus muttered something that I don’t think I was supposed to hear but it stuck with me, though.” Jenna muttered.

“What did he say?” Elena looked at Jenna kindly.

“I wish she didn’t have to die.” Jenna quoted quietly.

“Weird.” Elena murmured. “I’ll have to go back and talk to Elijah.”

“Of course.” Jenna smirked.

“What?” Elena asked confused.

“Nothing.” Jenna chuckled, still smirking. “Say hello to Elijah from me.”

“No, seriously, Jenna.” Elena asked as Elena walked away. “What are you smirking about?”

“Have fun and I’ll see you later.” Jenna called out in a sing song tone.

Half an hour later, Elena walked back into the Lockwood mansion. She smiled at Elijah who was standing by the lit fireplace.

“Welcome back.” Elijah nodded at her with a smile.

“Thank you.” Elena giggled and seriously what was with her and giggling around Elijah? “Jenna says hello.”

“Is she alright?” Elijah asked as he watched her take of her jacket.

“Yeah, just a little freaked out that Alaric wasn’t actually Alaric.” Elena laughed slightly.

“That must have come as a shock.” Elijah chuckled.

“Now that I know she’s okay, could you please tell me about Klaus curse?” Elena inquired gently.

“It’s a bit of a long story so bear with me, but I’ll try and give you the cliff-notes version.” Elijah smiled and gestured for her to sit and when she does, he sat down next to her making her stomach tingle again.

“My family was quite close, but Klaus and my father did not get on to well. When we become vampires, we discovered the truth; Klaus was not my father’s son.” Elijah started his story. “My mother had been unfaithful many years before and this was her darkest secret, Klaus is from a different bloodline.” Elijah paused to sigh sadly. “Of course, when my father discovered this, he hunted down and killed my mother’s lover and his entire family. Not realizing, of course, that he was igniting a war between species that rages until this day.”

“Oh my God.” Elena gasped. “Klaus is part werewolf, isn’t he?”

“You are a very bright young woman.” Elijah smiled pleasantly surprised at her figuring it out. “Klaus is both vampire and werewolf. A hybrid that is deadlier than any werewolf or vampire and Nature would not stand for such imbalance of power. Therefore, the witches, the servants of Nature, saw to it that my brother’s werewolf side would be dormant.”

“Oh, that poor, poor man.” Elena had tears in her eyes. “How is he not either completely insane or brain dead?”

“What are you talking about?” Elijah asked slowly.

“The fucking judgmental witches locked part of Klaus away.” Elena let the tears fall down her face. “He has gone around for several hundred years missing part of himself which must be slowly but surely driving him insane.”

“I…I… I have never thought about it like that.” Elijah murmured with pain in his eyes. “No wonder he just became more and more desperate as the years passed.”

“So, we help him, right?” Elena looked at Elijah.

“If we help Klaus trigger the part of him that is a werewolf, he would sire his own bloodline.” Elijah told her. “He’d build his own race. Endangering not just vampires but everyone.”

“Elijah, he’s your brother.” Elena placed a hand on Elijah’s cheek. “I think as long as you are by his side and trust him to do the right thing, everything will be fine.”

“I can’t.” Elijah sighed sadly. “He did something truly unforgivable and for that he must die.”

“So, we use the dagger.” Elena pleaded with him. “I don’t want you to have to live with the knowledge that you killed your own brother.”

“When a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals.” Elijah looked at her. “An Original can’t be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger.”

“The dagger doesn’t work.” Elena murmured. “So, what you're saying is that Klaus can’t be killed?”

“There's one way to kill any supernatural species… at the hands of the servants of nature themselves.” Elijah informed her.

“A witch. If they could channel that much power.” Elena huffed. “But it would kill them.”

“The curse must be broken during the full moon when Klaus is in transition.” Elijah explained. “That’s when he’ll be at his most vulnerable and a witch with enough power… can kill Klaus.”

“What if I told you that I knew a witch that could channel all that power?” Elena asked slowly.

“Then I would tell you there's one more thing that you should know.” Elijah then proceeded to tell her about how he had a plan to save Katerina in the 1400s.

“You found a way to save the life of the doppelgänger?” Elena asked with a sliver off hope in her eyes.

“Yes, Elena, I did.” Elijah smiled kindly at her. “But unfortunately, Katerina took matters into her own hands first. I believe you already know how that played out.”

“You cared for her.” Elena murmured softly.

“It’s a common mistake, I'm told.” Elijah handed her, her jacket and started to leave. “And it’s one I won’t make again.”

Did that mean he hated doppelgängers? Elena felt like a hand was squeezing her heart as he said that and left but she couldn’t figure out why. She slowly followed Elijah out towards the car but as she closed the door behind her and walked down the porch stairs a dizzy spell hit her and she heard Death’s voice in her head.

_“You need to make sure that you drink the potion that Elijah will give you to survive.”_ Death’s voice was a quiet whisper and a thundering boom all at the same time. _“And you cannot have any vampire blood in you for that potion to work.”_

“Elena!” Elijah called her name as she refocused on the world around her.

She was held in Elijah’s arms at the bottom of the stair, “What happened?”

“You fell down the stairs but I managed to catch you.” Elijah gently but her on her feet again only for her legs to give out.

“Sorry, I'm just a little dizzy.” Elena mumbled, her head felt very odd, but now she understood why Death tried to avoid talking to her like this, when she wasn’t meditating.

“Have you eaten anything today? Or had anything to drink?” Elijah asked softly as he carried her to the car and placed her in the passenger seat.

“I had an apple this morning and then some bourbon at the boarding house.” Elena murmured embarrassed.

“That is not really a good breakfast, is it?” Elijah chuckled slightly.

“Probably not.” Elena giggled.

“Elijah…” Elena spoke up after a while.

“Elena…” Elijah answered in the same tone.

“Damon and Stefan won’t be happy about me agreeing to be in this ritual.” Elena haltingly explained. “And knowing Damon, he will probably try and force his blood down my throat so he will be sure I’ll survive…sort of.”

“If he does that my way won’t work.” Elijah told her as he turned the car onto the road to the boarding house.

“Can you compel Damon and Stefan not to give me their blood under any circumstance until after the ritual?” Elena turned to him.

“I can, but if I remember correctly, they are both on vervain.” Elijah remarked.

“They haven't been since they daggered you.” Elena explained. “And I think they have been too busy today to take some.”

Elijah parked the car in front of the boarding house and vamp-sped over to open Elena’s door, “Shall we?”

“We shall.” Elena smirked and took the offered arm. “Elijah, would you like to come in?”

Elijah smiled as they walked into the boarding house, towards where all the sound was coming from. As they entered the parlor, they saw Damon and Stefan fighting and Elena sighed.

“Enough!” Elena did her best Loki expression, not that anyone else would know but, whatever.

“Now you’ve invited him in?” Damon asked in disbelief.

“Yes, I have.” Elena hummed. “He has agreed to renew our deal and he has agreed to help us.”

“Really?” Stefan looked like he didn’t believe it.

“The two of you will not come to any harm at my hands.” Elijah nodded. “I only ask for one thing in return.”

“What?” Damon glared at where Elijah had Elena’s hand in the crook of his elbow.

“An apology.” Elijah said as he looked at Damon and Stefan.

“A what?” Damon scoffed.

“I'm sorry for the part I played in your death.” Stefan walked closer to them. “I was protecting Elena. I will always protect my best friend.”

“I understand.” Elijah bowed his head slightly at him and then all of them turned towards Damon.

“The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon.” Elena said gently. “Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life. I told you I would find another way, and I did.”

“Is that true?” Damon looked straight at Elijah.

“It is.” Elijah nodded.

Damon turned towards Elena. “And you're trusting him?”

“Yes, I am.” Elena declared.

“You can all go to hell.” Damon sneered and started to walk out but before he got far, Elijah was in front of him.

“You will not under any circumstance give Elena Gilbert any vampire blood until the sacrifice has been made.” Elijah compelled him and when Damon repeated the words, Elijah vamp-sped in front of Stefan and repeated the compulsion.

“Why would you do that?” Stefan demanded even as he watched his older brother storm out while cursing himself for forgetting to take vervain.

“Because if Elena has vampire blood in her system, then my way of saving her won’t work.” Elijah explained, not giving away that it was Elena’s idea, which she was grateful for.

“Elijah, do you need a ride anywhere?” Elena asked with a small smile. “I can drop you of, if you want?”

“That would be appreciated.” Elijah offered his arm to her again. “Thank you.”

Elena waved goodbye to Stefan as she left with Elijah, what Elena didn’t notice was the smirk Elijah sent at Stefan over his shoulder.

XOXOXOX

Three days later, Elena decided to wear the outfit that Lexi and Lee had sent her mostly as a joke. The outfit consisted of black boots, ripped stockings, black studded shorts with a pocket-bag that wrapped around her thigh, a crop top with the text ‘Vampire’s Sucks’ and several throwing knifes that were placed in the pocket-bag.

There were several other types of weapons to but she chose to leave those at home with the jacket that belonged to the outfit, instead choosing to wear one of Jeremy’s few button-ups.

“Hey Aunt Jenna.” Elena said as she rushed down the stairs and out the door to her bike. “Bye Aunt Jenna.”

Elena arrived at the boarding house at the same time as Elijah and Elena couldn’t help but be impressed by the car he was driving.

“Is that an Aston Martin One-77?” Elena asked as Elijah stepped out of the dark red car.

“Yes, it is.” Elijah smiled at her and shrugged. “Luka recommended it to me.”

“You do know that is one of the most expensive cars in the world, right?” Elena walked closer to the car to be able to admire it.

“Is it?” Elijah hummed with a slight smirk.

“You know full well it is.” Elena laughed as she watched Elijah take a wooden box out of the car.

Elena and Elijah med their way into the boarding house and joined Stefan in the library.

“Good morning, pretty boy.” Elena smirked.

“I am _not_ pretty!” Stefan whined with a pout.

“Uh-hu.” Elena hummed.

“Tonight is the full moon.” Elijah said after having placed the box on the table in front of him. “We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse.”

“Elena said that the sun and the moon curse is a fake?” Stefan looked over at Elijah. “That it’s actually a curse placed on Klaus.”

“Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it… He’ll be a true hybrid.”

“Then why are we letting him break the curse?” Damon asked as he walked in. “We can kill him today, with Bonnie.”

“Damon…” Stefan sighed.

“No, Bonnie can’t use that much power without dying.” Elena huffed.

“I’ll write her a great eulogy.” Damon offered.

“It’s not an option, Damon.” Elena snapped, getting annoyed.

“All right.” Stefan stepped forward before a fight could break out. “How do we break this curse?”

“Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward.” Elijah said. “The ingredients, so to speak, you already know.”

“The Moonstone.” Stefan nodded.

“A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that’s bound within the stone.” Elijah explained. “After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each.”

“And where do I fit into the whole thing?” Elena asked softly.

“The final part of the ritual.” Elijah opened the wooden box and pulled out a beautiful jar. “Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelgänger… to the point of your death.”

Damon looked at Elena while Stefan placed a hand on her shoulder but Elena herself was very calm, “And that’s where you come in.”

“This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Katerina.” Elijah held up the jar. “It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation.”

“So, I’ll be dead?” Elena looked at him.

“And then you won’t.” Elijah smiled gently at her.

“That’s your plan?” Damon spoke up loudly. “A magical witch potion with no expiration date?”

Damon turned and looked at Elena almost desperately. “You want to come back to life, what about John’s ring?”

“I'm a doppelgänger.” Elena reminded him at the same time as Elijah spoke up.

“Those rings only work on humans.” Elijah looked at Damon. “The doppelgänger’s a supernatural occurrence. Odds are, the ring won’t work.”

“I’ll take those odds over your elixir.” Damon snapped then he turned back to Elena. “What if it doesn’t work, Elena?”

“Then I’ll great Death as an old friend and move on to the next big adventure.” Elena shrugged.

Damon looked at his brother and then back at Elena, then he shook his head and walked out.

“Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this?” Elena asked as she turned to Elijah. “Does he have a werewolf?”

“Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years.” Elijah murmured. “If he doesn’t already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will.”

Stefan smiled at Elena and nodded at Elijah a little stiffly, “I’ll go check on Damon.”

“You’d think he would understand why I'm willing to do this.” Elena walked over to stand by Elijah.

“Why are you?” Elijah asked as he tilted his head.

“Several reasons actually.” Elena smiled slightly. “One of them is that I know that if I don’t do this my friends and family will be in the cross fire of Klaus’s rage. Another reason is that as I see it, no one should be forced to have part of themselves locked away by force just because the people around them can’t accept them for who and what they are.”

“You know, there’s a possibility this elixir won’t work.” Elijah placed a gentle hand on Elena’s face. “I don’t want to mislead you.”

“I know the chance I'm taking.” Elena smiled at him.

Before Elijah could say anything more, they heard Jenna screaming at someone near the front door. they looked at each other and quickly made their way there.

“Get out!” Jenna screamed as she aimed a crossbow at Alaric.

“Jenna, Jenna!” Alaric had his hands up.

“Get out!” Jenna ordered again, crossbow steady.

“Jenna, put the crossbow down, okay?” Alaric pleaded. “It’s me.”

“Stay away from me.” Jenna glared, not believing him.

Damon and Stefan arrived at the same time as Elijah and Elena, “What’s going on?”

“It’s me, Elena. I swear, okay?” Alaric begged her. “He let me go, Klaus let me go.”

“Prove it.” Damon demanded.

Alaric turned and looked at Jenna, “Okay, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to…”

“Okay, it’s him!” Jenna interrupted and lowered the crossbow and Elena chuckled.

“Why did he let you go?” Stefan asked.

“He wanted me to deliver two messages. One to all of you and one to Elena.” Alaric told them.

“What did he say to all of us?” Damon wanted to know.

“The sacrifice happens tonight.” Alaric muttered.

“And the message to me?” Elena wondered.

“He said that as long as you come willingly to the sacrifice, he would not hurt anyone you cared about.” Alaric looked at her. “And that he wished you didn’t have to die.”

Elena nodded with a smile, that was something she could agree to without thinking about. Then she turned around and waked back into the library with Alaric, Jenna, Stefan and Elijah following her.

“What I want to know is why Klaus seems to actually feel sorry about Elena dying.” Stefan muttered.

“It is quite out of character for him.” Elijah looked at Elena with an intense look in his eyes.

“So, do you remember anything that happened?” Stefan asked Alaric as Elena poured herself some bourbon.

“No, it’s like I blacked out and woke up three days later.” Alaric shook his head. “Kathrine was there.”

“She's under compulsion.” Stefan explained. “Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can’t leave until Klaus tells her she can.”

“Where's Damon?” Elena looked around.

“I saw him go upstairs.” Jenna said quietly.

Elena smiled at her Aunt and walked up to Damon’s bedroom where she found the older Salvatore standing by the window gazing out on the grounds.

“You disappeared.” Elena murmured as she walked up to him.

“I don’t want to hear anymore.” Damon shrugged.

“I need you to understand why I'm doing this.” Elena looked at him earnestly.

“Why?” Damon gave a bitter laugh. “It clearly doesn’t matter what I think.”

“I’ll be fine, Damon.” Elena reassured him. “I’ll drink the elixir, Bonnie will kill Klaus and then all this will be over.”

“If it works.” Damon muttered.

“It will work.” Elena said confidently.

“You think it will work. You want it to work.” Damon turned to her. “Why am I the only one who’s convinced it won’t? There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t.” Elena declared firmly.

“And you're going to die, Elena.” Damon looked at her and Elena saw the desperation in his eyes.

“And then I’ll come back.” Elena informed him. The look he was giving her almost scared her. She had never been scared of Damon before but now when he was panicking and grasping at straws, he really did scare her.

“That is not a risk I'm willing to take.” Damon walked closer to her.

“But I am.” Elena gently took his hand in hers. “It’s my life, Damon. My choice.”

“I can’t lose you.” Damon looked at her.

“You won’t.” Elena declared and walked towards the door.

Damon sped in front of her, “There is another way.”

“What are you…” Elena started to say before Damon grabbed her and started to run towards his car.

“If you’re not here you can’t die.” Damon told her.

“Damon, no!” Elena struggled, trying to get free, feeling the panic creeping up and memories of Tanner and Brady flashing through her mind.

Before Damon can make it out the front door, Elena is pulled from his arms by an angry looking Elijah.

“The only reason I'm not ripping your heart out of your chest is because I made a promise to Elena.” Elijah growled lowly as he glared at Damon while Elena was crying in his arms.

“If you hadn’t compelled me not to give her any vampire blood, I wouldn’t have to kidnap her.” Damon glared back.

“But you would condemn everyone else to death!” Elena shouted at him, letting the fear and panic turn into anger. “Do you not care about that?”

“Do I care about our pack? Yes, I do.” Damon looked determined. “Would I choose you over them? In a heartbeat.”

“Come on, brother.” Stefan started to lead Damon out the door. “You need to calm down.”

Elena walked into the library and tried to pour herself some bourbon but her hands were shaking too much. Damon grabbing her and not letting go made her have flash backs to the helpless feeling she got when she was attacked by Tanner and later Brady.

She had barley gotten past flinching away from him, Stefan and Alaric since they shot her with a crossbow and now this? She could feel how her trust in them was slowly being chipped away and if this continued she didn’t know what would happen.

“Here, let me.” Elijah gently placed his hands over hers and then took the glass and the decanter from her.

“Thank you.” Elena murmured as he gave her the now full glass.

“You are most welcome.” Elijah smiled at her. “Are you alright?”

“I'm not sure.” Elena admitted. “I remembered the other times I've felt that helpless and that was when I was molested by Tanner and then Brady to a lesser degree.”

“If you take back your protection, I could kill him for you.” Elijah offered, sounding almost eager about it.

“That’s very sweet but you don’t stop protecting family just because you got hurt by said family.” Elena smiled slightly.

“You can change your mind any time.” Elijah told her.

“When should I drink the elixir, by the way?” Elena looked at Elijah, trying to get her mind on something else.

“Just before nightfall would be best.” Elijah carefully gave her the jar.

“Thank you for trying, even if this does not work, I am very glad to have met you.” Elena kissed him on the cheek.

“I really hope it works.” Elijah murmured back as Stefan walked in. “I shall see you both tonight.”

Elena watched as Elijah walked out, her lips tingled for some reason. After this whole debacle was over, she needed to make a doctor’s appointment for all the weird symptoms she had.

“Hey.” Stefan pulled Elena into a hug. “I want you to go somewhere with me.”

“Stefan, you know I can’t.” Elena told him.

“It’s just for the day.” Stefan assured her as he pulled her towards his car.

XOXOXOX

Stefan was leading Elena through the woods on the side of a mountain and Elena was feeling grateful that she had chosen to wear boots instead of heels today.

“Where are we?” Elena asked as she looked around.

“It’s a surprise.” Stefan smiled. “Just a little bit longer.”

“I really want to start asking ‘Are we there yet?’ repeatedly.” Elena smirked. “But I think I like you too much to do that.”

“Thank you kindly.” Stefan chuckled lowly, then he got a serious look on his face. “Do you really think that the elixir will work?”

“Yes, I do.” Elena hummed. “I don’t know why but I really believe that it will work.”

“I wish I had your confidence.” Stefan sighed.

“Oh my…” Elena gasped as they stopped by a waterfall. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah but it’s not our end destination.” Stefan looked up the mountain. “It’s a long way to the top. Let’s got, you never know what might come up.”

“We’re climbing all the way up to the top?” Elena asked wide eyed.

“Oh, yeah.” Stefan smirked at her.

“Do you want to kill me before Klaus has the chance?” Elena smiled brightly to show she was joking.

“Suck it up and move that ass.” Stefan laughed and started to walk again.

Elena laughed loudly and followed him up along the waterfall.

“What’s the best thing about being a vampire?” Elena asked a while later, wanting to have something to talk about and she was curious.

“Ahh, you feel like you can do anything. Be anyone.” Stefan responded after he had thought about it for a few minutes. “Beautiful things are more beautiful. Everything’s heightened, you just live more intensely, love more powerfully.”

“What's the worst thing?” Elena asked. “Besides the blood thing.”

“Anger becomes rage. When you're sad, you're in despair. Grief. Loss. I can cripple you.” Stefan looked like his mind was far away. “That’s why so many of us turn our emotions off. It just becomes… too overwhelming. You know, for a while, for me, the good just wasn’t worth the bad.”

“You are stronger than you think.” Elena looked at him seriously. “You have all this guilt inside you that must be so very heavy but you still haven't turned your emotions off and that is amazing.”

“Thank you.” Stefan smiled gratefully at her.

Elena walked past Stefan and called over her shoulder, “Come on, slow poke, we’re waiting for you now.”

Stefan laughed brightly and followed after her, grabbing her around the waist as he came up to her, making her laugh.

Forty-five minutes later they reached the top of the mountain and if Stefan had cheated a little by grabbing Elena at random intervals and vamp-speeding some of the distance, neither of them mentioned it.

“We made it!” Elena threw her hands up in celebration.

“That’s nothing if you’ve climbed Mt. Everest.” Stefan smirked.

“Nobody likes a bragger, Stefan.” Elena mock glared at him. Then she took in the view and smiled. “Wow.”

“Yeah, it is a stunning view.” Stefan hummed in agreement.

“Is it weird that I hope the werewolf that Klaus will use in the ritual is Jules?” Elena asked suddenly.

“No, I actually think it would be almost poetic.” Stefan smiled darkly.

“Wonder if Kathrine will be the vampire sacrifice?” Elena hummed.

“I hope so.” Stefan muttered.

“Stefan!” Elena laughed.

“What?” Stefan shrugged unapologetically. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer woman.”

“You really do hate her, huh?” Elena asked softly.

“You haven't been compelled so you don’t know the feeling but when it happens you have no idea that it is, it’s all just normal and stuff.” Stefan tried to explain with a shrug. “But then when you become a vampire everything comes back.”

“Kathrine compelled you?” Elena placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Yes, repeatedly.” Stefan looked at her sadly. “She compelled me to love her and to desire her.”

“So what you're saying is that she basically raped you.” Elena looked devastated. “How can you even stand to look at me?”

“Elena, you are not her.” Stefan placed his hands on either side of her face. “You are like sunshine and happiness, while she is nightmares and pain.”

“If Klaus doesn’t use her in the ritual, I'm ripping her heart out afterwards.” Elena growled and pulled Stefan into a hug. “No one hurst baby Stefan and gets away with it.”

“Baby Stefan?” Stefan muffled came for where his face was squished against Elenas shoulder.

“You maybe 162, or is it 163 by now?” Elena muttered before she refocused. “But you were 17 when you died and that is why I declared you my second baby brother.”

“Thanks?” Stefan sounded both amused and confused.

“You're welcome.” Elena beamed at him as she pulled back.

“We should make our way back.” Stefan chuckled softly.

“You should marry Jeremy!” Elena called out with a smirk as they walked, making Stefan stumble. “That way you’ll be my brother by law!”

“Elena!” Stefan looked horrified.

“What?” Elena glared teasingly. “Are you saying my brother isn’t good looking enough?”

“Well…ehm…that is to say…” Stefan stuttered out then he sighed in defeat. “I've got nothing.”

“So, you do think Jeremy is good looking?” Elena had a manic smile on her face.

“Do I think Jeremy is physically attractive? Yes.” Stefan admitted. “Would I ever consider dating him? No.”

“Why not?” Elena pouted. “You would look good together. Like yin and yang.”

“Because that would be like dating Damon.” Stefan shuddered in disgust.

“Aww, you see Jeremy as a brother.” Elena looked happy about that fact and started to skip down the mountain.

When they reached the car, the sun was setting and Elena was glad that she had brought the elixir with her. She pulled it out of the box and uncorked it and looked into the jar with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” Stefan asked as he looked at her.

“It’s sort of shimmering in purple and pink.” Elena said, sounding fascinated. “Doesn’t smell the best though.”

“Bottoms up?” Stefan hummed.

“Bottoms up.” Elena agreed and started to drink, when she had managed to drink it all she shuddered. “That tasted weird.”

“How are you feeling?” Stefan looked closely at he.

“I don’t feel any different except, maybe, a tingle in my stomach.” Elena looked at him and mentally thanked Elijah for the elixir.

XOXOXOX

Stefan parked the car at the boarding house and vamp-sped around it to open the door for Elena.

“Thank you for today.” Elena smiled at him.

“Anytime.” Stefan smiled back before he stiffened and turned around.

“You got me all nervous. I thought maybe one of the Salvatore’s had done something stupid.” Klaus smirked at them. “Are you ready, my dear?”

“Hello Klaus, nice to see you in your own body.” Elena chuckled softly. “And yes, I'm ready.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Elena.” Stefan kissed her on the head.

“See ya later, my dude.” Elena walked over to Klaus.

“So, I assume you’ve found a way to survive the ritual?” Klaus said as they walked into the woods.

“Yes, we found an elixir that was made by some witches that is supposed to resurrect me when the ritual is over.” Elena hummed, not telling him about Elijah. “Is that a problem?”

“Not at all.” Klaus spoke softly. “I am happy that you might survive this.”

“Even if I wouldn’t, I would still do this willingly.” Elena told him.

“Why?” Klaus looked confused. “Are you that eager to die?”

“No, I don’t want to die but you should always great Death as an old friend.” Elena shrugged. “And there are two reasons I would do this willingly.”

“And those reasons are?” Klaus asked as he looked at her from the corner of his eye.

“First reason is that I would do anything to protect my friends and family.” Elena said strongly.

“Admirable.” Klaus nodded. “And the second reason?”

“To help you.” Elena murmured gently. “No one should be forced to have a part of themselves locked away just because the people around don’t like that part.”

“You are different from anyone I have ever met and I have met a lot of people over the years.” Klaus chuckled.

“Good different or bad different?” Elena asked.

“Good different.” Klaus smiled as they met up with Greta. “Definitely good.”

“Klaus.” Greta nodded at him.

“Greta, would you show Elena the way to the Quarry?” Klaus hummed. “I have some last-minute details to see to.”

“Of course.” Greta agreed and turned to Elena. “This way.”

“See you at the Quarry.” Elena waved at Klaus and followed after Greta.

“I'm so happy I didn’t wear high heels today.” Elena grumbled as she stumbled over yet another root in the dark.

“I like your shirt, by the way.” Greta chuckled at Elena’s grumbling.

“Thanks, I thought it fitting.” Elena looked down at her ‘Vampire’s Suck’ shirt. “So… wanna go shopping when all this is over?”

“You are walking towards a place where you will be sacrificed and you ask the person leading you to your death if they want to go shopping?” Greta sounded incredulous.

“Pretty much, yeah.” Elena hummed.

“If you survive the ritual, sure we can go shopping.” Greta agreed with a laugh. “I need female friends anyway.”

“Get fucked by a cactus, you fucking asshole of a tree root!” Elena cursed as she stumbled again. “I can’t see a single fucking thing.”

Greta started to laugh even as she lit several fires all around them, showing Elena that they had arrived at the Quarry. The first thing Elena saw was an unconscious male vampire trapped by a ring of fire with a tall man standing by her.

“Greta?” Elena turned to the witch. “Remind me to send a thank you basket to Klaus after this is done.”

“Why are you going to do that?” Greta asked confused.

“I'm just happy that he didn’t use Kathrine ‘raging bitch’ Pierce as a sacrifice, that means I get to kill her myself.” Elena laughed and walked over to the man. “Hey, I'm Elena, resident doppelgänger.”

“Maddox.” The man, Maddox, answered shortly with a confused lilt to his voice.

“Nice to meet you Maddox.” Elena smiled brightly and bounced in place.

**A/N: Another day, another chapter :)**

**Elena really does have to call a doctor for all those weird tingles when she’s around Elijah :D**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	23. The Sun Lays Dying

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

Elena had managed to talk Maddox into playing rock, paper, scissor with her to pass the time when vampire woke up with a quiet groan. Elena giggled as she saw the vampire trying to find an escape route without being noticed.

“We know you are awake.” Elena sing songed as she beat Maddox paper with her scissor.

“Don’t bother trying to get through.” Greta spoke up as she saw the looks the vampire were throwing the fiery ring around her. “I spelled the circle. You're trapped, no matter what you do.”

“Why you so friendly with him?” the male vampire, who Elena now saw was one of her class mates, asked slowly. “They kidnapped us!”

“Because I'm not kidnapped, Aiden.” Elena shrugged and patted Maddox on the arm as they ended their game.

“You helped them take me?” Aiden got up from the ground.

“I did not.” Elena denied. “But I knew that there would be a need for a vampire to be sacrificed in this ritual. And a werewolf. And me.”

“Vampires aren't real.” Aiden sneered. “And is this some paganistic hell cult or something?”

“Vampires are real. You feel that burning in your throat? That’s the thirst for blood.” Elena hummed. “And it’s not a paganistic hell cult.”

“But it is a cult?” Aiden looked scared and freaked out.

“I don’t know if they would consider it a cult.” Elena shrugged. “And if it was a cult, what would they call it? The Cult of Klaus?”

“What about ‘Cult of The New Order’?” Greta piped up with a laugh.

“Cult of the Hybrid.” Maddox offered.

“That is awesome!” Elena laughed and Greta nodded in agreement.

“From this point forward, I dub this ‘The Cult of the Hybrid.” Greta said somnolently.

“You are all insane!” Aiden called out.

“You're the one who is almost pissing his pants I fear, you have no room to talk. # Pathetic.” Elena sneered at him.

“Hashtag?” Aiden looked slightly confused.

“Oh, it hasn’t gotten enough traction yet, but you just wait, in a few years it’ll be a big thing.” Elena informed him. “Well, you’ll have to take my word for it, you won’t be alive to see it.”

“You're just going to let them kill me?” Aiden demanded to know.

“Pretty much, yeah.” Elena nodded. “And even if you weren’t used in this ritual, I would’ve killed you anyway.”

“What did I ever do to you?” Aiden screamed at her.

“Nothing, I just feel the need to kill something.” Elena shrugged with a chuckle.

“Who’s that?” Aiden asked as they heard a groan.

“Must be the werewolf, duh.” Elena sneered, then she looked between Maddox and Greta. “Please tell me it’s Jules? Pretty please?”

“It is.” Maddox nodded.

“Yes!” Elena threw a fist in the air.

“What’s happening to me?” Jules clutched her stomach in pain.

“I cast a spell to slow down your transformation.” Greta smirked as she made a ring of fire appear around Jules. “Your insides are trying to tear themselves free.”

“Greta.” Elena walked up to her and kissed her full on the lips. “You are awesome and I adore you.”

“Hey, hands of my girl!” Maddox called out.

“Sorry.” Elena smiled apologetically at him before she turned towards Jules. “Does it hurt?”

“Yes!” Jules screamed out in pain.

“Good.” Elena laughed and walked back over to where Maddox was standing.

“Why aren't you trapped by a fiery ring?” Aiden wondered.

“Because I know she won’t try and escape.” Klaus said as he walked into the Quarry. “She is here willingly.”

“What?!” Aiden called out in shock. “You would willingly let him sacrifice you?!”

“Obviously.” Elena drawled and had to stop herself from laughing as she reminded herself of Severus Snape.

“Why would you let him kill us?” Jules gasped out in pain.

“You and your pack tortured my best friend and then you tried to make me into your pack bitch/baby maker.” Elena glared at her. “Your boyfriend, Brady, got his heart ripped out after he tried to rape me. It brings me absolute happiness to know that I’ll get to watch you die.”

“Are we ready?” Klaus asked even as he turned a dark look at Jules.

“Everything is set.” Greta nodded.

“I've got the moonstone.” Klaus walked up on a nearby hill and pulled the moonstone from his pocket. “I spent 500 years looking for this. I hate to part with it.”

“The moon has passed its apex.” Greta said as she accepted the stone from Klaus. “Remember everything you need to do?”

“I remember.” Klaus inclined his head.

Greta dropped the moonstone into a stone bowl filled with flames and sparks flew as the moonstone was destroyed. She began to chant a spell in Latin as Klaus approached the fiery ring containing Jules.

“I hope you suffer.” Jules glared at Elena.

“You first.” Elena sneered back.

“Shall we?” Klaus glared down at Jules.

As the ring of fire around Jules disappeared, Jules eyes turned yellow and she tried to use her werewolf speed to rush at Klaus. Klaus got the upper hand without much effort and quickly pinned Jules to the ground, plunged his hand into her chest and ripped her heart out.

“That was epic!” Elena called out making Klaus smile at her enthusiasm as he walked over to Greta.

Greta continued to chant as Klaus held Jules’s heart over the ceremonial bowl and squeezed the blood into the flame.

“Does that mean it’s working?” Klaus asked as he looked at Greta.

“It’s working.” Greta nodded.

“You know…” Elena turned to look at Aiden. “This could have been karma and poetic justice rolled into one.”

“What are you talking about?” Aiden glared at her.

“You are being sacrificed in the same ritual that a woman named Kathrine turned herself into a vampire 500 years ago to escape.” Elena laughed. “It would have been really funny to me if Kathrine had been the sacrifice.”

“Me too, but I feel that death was too easy for Katerina.” Klaus chuckled as he walked over to Aiden’s fire ring, then he stopped and turned to look up at the top of the Quarry. “Well, well, I don’t recall you being on the guest list.”

“Stefan?” Elena murmured shocked.

Stefan must have said something because Klaus nodded, “Very well, then.”

Klaus left to talk to Stefan and Elena started to hum to Aiden, as she danced around the fire ring he was trapped in.

“ _Don't ever laugh as a hearse goes by  
For you may be the next to die  
They wrap you up in bloody sheets  
To drop you six feet underneath_

_They put you in a pinewood box  
And cover you up with dirt and rocks  
It all goes well for about a week  
And then your coffin begins to leak_

_And the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out  
The worms play pinochle on your snout  
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose  
As you begin to decompose_

_A slimy beetle with demon's eyes  
Chews through your stomach and out your sides  
Your stomach turns to rancid grease  
And puss pours out like melted cheese  
You spread it on a slice of bread  
And that's what you'll eat when you're dead_

_And the worms crawl out, the worms crawl in  
The ones that crawl in are lean and thin  
The ones that crawl out are fat and stout _

_And the worms crawl out, the worms crawl in  
The ones that crawl in are lean and thin  
The ones that crawl out are fat and stout  
Your eyes fall in and your hair falls out_

_Your brain turns into maggot pie  
Your liver starts to liquify  
And for the living, all is well  
As you sink further into hell_

_And the flames rise up to drag you down  
Into the fire where you will drown  
Your skin melts off as you descend  
And Satan tears you limb from limb  
Your suffering will never end_

_And the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out  
They'll eat your guts and then shit them out  
And when your bones begin to rot  
The worms remain, but you do not_

_So don't ever laugh as a hearse goes by  
For someday, you'll be the one to die  
And when Death brings his cold despair  
Ask yourself, "Will anyone care?_” – The Hears Song by Rusty Cage.

“That was a very fitting song.” Klaus applauded as he and Stefan walked back to them.

“That was morbid.” Aiden said disgusted.

“So’s your face.” Elena shrugged making Klaus chuckle. “What are you doing here, Stefan?”

“I didn’t want you to die alone.” Stefan admitted softly.

“That’s so sweet, pretty boy.” Elena gushed teasingly.

“Shut up.” Stefan grumbled. “And I'm not pretty.”

“Well…” Klaus hummed with a smirk.

“You can’t argue with the thousand-year-old soon to be hybrid.” Elena chuckled.

“Just get on with the ritual.” Stefan told them with a huff.

“Welcome to the Cult of the Hybrid.” Elena chuckled.

“The Cult of the Hybrid?” Klaus looked intrigued.

“Well, Aiden asked if this as a paganistic ritual or cult and when I said it wasn’t paganistic he concluded that it was a cult.” Elena laughed. “And then we tried calling it The Cult of Klaus but that didn’t sound good and Greta said something about The Cult of The New Order. But it was Maddox who came up with The Cult of the Hybrid so that is what this is now.”

“Does that mean you’ll worship at my feet?” Klaus laughed.

“No, but I will admit to you being badass and epic.” Elena grinned.

“Whenever you're ready Greta.” Klaus chuckled as he walked over to the ring of fire containing Aiden.

Greta started on the next part of the spell, chanting in a similar but different tune than earlier, which dispels the fire around Aiden.

“Say ‘Hello’ to Death from me.” Elena smirked at Aiden.

“Go to Hell.” Aiden snarled back.

“Nah, I’d probably rule hell within two weeks and get bored.” Elena sing songed.

“Please help me.” Aiden begged as he looked at Stefan.

“If you had begged me two years ago I would but you see…” Stefan looked Aiden in the eyes. “Elena have thought me that I can’t take the life of every being on to my shoulders and after finally learning and accepting that, I only care if my family and Pack dies.”

Suddenly Aiden vamp-sped over to Greta and ferociously bit into her neck, making Greta scream. Klaus rushed after her and staked Aiden in the back, pulled him off Greta, who had fallen to the ground. Aiden gasped as Klaus released him and he fell to the ground.

Stefan vamp-sped over and offered Greta his bleeding wrist to heal her neck before going back over to Elena.

Elena started to hum ‘Let the bodies hit the floor’ under her breath as Klaus flipped Aiden over onto his back and staked him in the heart. Klaus released the stake from his grasp and stood up as Aiden became grey and decayed.

“And he is dead.” Stefan murmured. “That was anticlimactic.”

“How do you feel?” Elena looked at him.

“I don’t really care.” Stefan sighed and looked relaxed. “What I said earlier was true, I only care about our Pack.”

“Yay!” Elena hummed.

Stefan walked up to Elena and hugged her, “I’ll see you on the morrow.”

“I think I might take a sleep-in tomorrow but as long as you make sure to have lunch ready, I’ll be there.” Elena hugged back.

Greta started to chant the next part of the spell with Klaus by her side as she poured Kathrine’s blood into the ceremonial bowl. Klaus slowly walked over to Elena and she decided to meet him halfway.

“It’s time.” Klaus murmured.

“Are you excited?” Elena asked softly. “To feel whole again?”

“Honestly? I'm both excited and nervous.” Klaus whispered to her so no one else could hear.

“If no one has told you I just want you to know,” Elena smiled at him. “I'm proud of you.”

“Thank you for doing this.” Klaus looked at her with gratefulness and a dimpled smile. “And I really hope that whatever you and your friends have found to save your life will work.”

“You're welcome and I'm confident that it will.” Elena offered her neck to Klaus. “By the way, your dimples are adorable.”

Elena were slightly surprised that the fangs sinking in to her neck didn’t hurt. Klaus pulled her closer to him as he drained her and she could feel herself grow weaker and weaker. When the world went black for Elena, she didn’t notice Klaus placing her body gently on the ground while placing a bloody kiss on her forehead.

XOXOXOX

The first thing Elena noticed when she woke up was that she was laying on something soft yet hard. She opened her eyes to look around and saw that she was in a forest somewhere and the thing she was laying on was a moss-covered hill.

“Where am I?” Elena wondered out loud as she got up. “What is this place?”

She didn’t get an answer, obviously, so she decided to walk around and explore. After an hour of walking she came upon a stream with what looked like clean water and feeling thirsty she bent down and cupped her hands in the water to drink some.

“Who are you?” A voice sounded from behind her, making her jump.

“Dear God and his dancing gay Archangels!” Elena exclaimed in surprise, then she turned towards the voice with a glare. “Don’t sneak up on people!”

“My apologies, Miss.” The man bowed his head. “I am just unused to meet anyone here.”

The man had shoulder length brown hair, stubble on his square jaw and dressed in medieval clothes, but what really caught Elena’s attention was the sadness in his brown eyes. He looked familiar in some way but she couldn’t place from where.

“That’s alright.” Elena smiled kindly. “If you don’t mind me asking, where are we?”

“I don’t rightly know.” The man admitted. “Most of the time I sleep but sometimes I awake and I'm here.”

“It’s quite beautiful here.” Elena looked around, the sun was rising from the east, making the forest come alive in green.

“It is quite beautiful.” The man smiled, but Elena was too busy looking around to see that the man wasn’t looking at the forest but at her.

“Nature has always been beautiful.” Elena murmured. “Sadly, most people are too busy with trivial things to appreciate the beauty around them.”

“You are correct about that.” The man smiled at her and bowed. “My name is Finn, Miss. Would you honor me with your name?”

“Elena.” Elena curtsied with a smile.

“Well then, Miss Elena.” Finn walked closer to her and held out his arm to her. “Would you allow me to escort you through this forest?”

“I would be delighted.” Elena smiled and took the offered arm, feeling a tingle in her tummy as it reminded her of Elijah.

Finn had led her along a path that she hadn’t seen earlier when he asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you come to be here?”

“I don’t mind.” Elena assured him. “I died as a willingly sacrifice in a ritual.”

“I'm sorry.” Finn murmured softly.

“I'm not.” Elena smiled. “I got to meet you, didn’t I?”

“That is very kind of you to say.” Finn smiled back at her.

“So how come you are here?” Elena asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t really remember.” Finn admitted. “I know I have been here for a very long time, but the details are murky.”

“I'm sorry if I brought up unpleasant feelings or memories.” Elena apologized.

“You didn’t, it’s just not something I have thought about in a long time.” Finn told her. “I think this is a place someone placed me in so I wouldn’t die. I think I was sad and lost and wanted it to be over…”

“Sometimes it hurts to breathe and sometimes you just want for it end. That’s when you take a deep breath and look around you at your life and ask yourself if you really are as low and deep in the black abyss as you can be?” Elena began softly. “If the answer is **No** ; then you have things to fight for, even if it’s just the thought of seeing the beauty of another sunrise. If the answer is **Yes** ; then you really shouldn’t give up, after all, the only way for you to go from this point is up.”

“That was very… beautiful and sad but also inspiring.” Finn murmured.

“It is one of the things I say to myself when I feel like everything is hopeless.” Elena admitted.

They spent hours walking around the forest and talking about everything and nothing until Elena felt herself fade. “I think I'm waking up.”

“Did you not say that you died in a sacrifice?” Finn asked confused.

“I did but a friend had found an elixir that would hopefully bring me back and it seems like it worked.” Elena explained.

“I'm happy that you are going to be okay.” Finn smiled sadly. “But it saddens me to have you leave.”

“Somehow I have the feeling that this isn’t the last time we shall meet.” Elena smiled and managed to kiss him on the cheek before she faded completely.

XOXOXOX

Elena looked at herself in the mirror a few hours after she had woken up. The black dress she was wearing matched the shoes and earrings she had put on. She might not have liked John and she wasn’t sad that he was dead, but she did feel grateful for him sacrificing his life for hers.

She didn’t know if it was the elixir from Elijah or John’s sacrifice or a combination of both but here she stood, ready to go to the hastily planned and compelled funeral of one Jonathan Alexander Gilbert, her biological father.

“You okey?” Jeremy walked into her room.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Elena turned to him. “Are you?”

Jeremy didn’t say anything at first. Just walked up to her and pulled her into his arms, “I'm so happy that you are alive.”

“Me too.” Elena smiled then she smirked teasingly. “Even though I kinda liked being dead, it was peaceful.”

“Lena!” Jeremy glared slightly at her.

“What?!” Elena laughed and pulled back from him. “I did promise to never lie to you.”

“You're insane but I love you anyway, sister-mine.” Jeremy shook his head.

“I love you to, baby brother.” Elena smiled at him.

“John wanted me to give this to you.” Jeremy handed her a letter. “And this.” He pulled out the Gilbert resurrection ring from his pocket and gave it to her.

A few hours later Elena was left at the cemetery with Damon and Stefan as the rest of their family went home.

“So… what's the plan?” Damon asked as the three of them looked out over the grave yard. “The curse is broken and Elijah didn’t come through with the promise of killing Klaus. How do you go about killing an all-powerful wolf/vamp and his two-faced older brother?”

“We are not killing either of them.” Elena declared with a note of finalization in her voice.

“Elena, Elijah betrayed us and Klaus killed you.” Damon murmured as he looked at her.

“I don’t blame Elijah for not killing his own brother.” Elena informed the Salvatore brothers. “There is nothing in this world that could make me kill Jeremy, not a single thing.”

“What about Klaus?” Stefan asked, knowing that he would never be able to kill Damon either.

“First off, I agreed to be part of the sacrifice and second, I'm not dead.” Elena smiled. “I didn’t lose anyone and life is good.”

“Yeah, about that…” Damon looked a little uncomfortable.

“Damon?” Elena and Stefan turned to look at him.

“While you were both at the Quarry some werewolves broke into the boarding house and…” Damon trailed off.

“And?” Elena had a bad feeling about this.

“One of them bit me.” Damon pulled up his sleeve and showed them the bite. “It’s actually more of a nip, really, but there it is.”

“We’ll find something.” Stefan promised with a look of anguish on his face. “A cure.”

“There is no cure, little brother.” Damon said softly.

“There must be something!” Elena exclaimed with tears in her eyes. Even though she was still mad at Damon for the attempt kidnapping before the ritual, she didn’t want him to die!

“I will find something!” Stefan swore. “I don’t care about what prize I must pay.”

“And I’ll help!” Elena declared strongly.

“Elena, you don’t owe me anything.” Damon smiled gently at her. “Especially since I tried to kidnap you.”

“Hey, we all do stupid shit sometime, yeah?” Elena smiled back. “And if you promise to fight to survive, I’ll forgive you for it, deal?”

“Deal.” Damon chuckled softly.

XOXOXOX

Two days after Damon had told her and Stefan about the bite Elena and Jeremy were walking through the town square to join Jenna, Alaric and Caroline to watch ‘Gone with the Wind’. Stefan had promised to find Elena when he had found a lead to a cure for Damon.

“Do we have to watch a girl movie?” Jeremy mock whined.

“Sadly, yes.” Elena nodded. “I would rather watch ‘Transformers’ or something but we promised Jenna so here we are.”

“Why do we let Aunt Jenna talk us into these sorts of things?” Jeremy asked as he helped Elena spread a big blanket on the ground.

“Because she has puppy eyes and we love her.” Elena laughed softly.

“And I love you both too.” Jenna beamed as she walked up to them without Alaric.

“Where’s Alaric?” Elena asked and looked around as if to see him.

“Something came up, apparently.” Jenna shrugged and sat down on the blanket.

“Hey, there you guys are!” Caroline came bouncing up to them with a bright smile. “Who’s hungry?”

“How much food did you bring?” Jeremy laughed as Caroline placed three big baskets in the middle of the blanket.

“Oh, you know, a little bit of this and a little bit of that.” Caroline smiled.

Forty-five minutes later Stefan walked up to them with a small smile that looked more like a grimace. “Hey.”

“Stefan, do you want to join us?” Jenna asked with a gesture to the blanket.

“No thank you.” Stefan shook his head. “I was actually hoping that I could steal Elena?”

“Absolutely.” Elena jumped up from the ground and whispered so only Stefan would hear. “Thank you for rescuing me from having to watch the rest of that dreadful movie.”

“I think I may have a lead on a way to save Damon.” Stefan said as they walked away from the town square.

“How and what is it?” Elena looked hopeful.

“I asked Bonnie to talk to her ancestors and while they didn’t want to help her because they see Damon dying as balance.” Stefan sneered as he said that. “She managed to hear them say something.”

“What?” Elena asked.

“Klaus.” Stefan looked at her. “I'm going to Alaric’s apartment to talk to him now and I know you would want to come with me.”

“Let’s go!” Elena quickly made her way to Stefans car.

When they entered Alaric’s place, they saw several empty bourbon bottles on the table and Kathrine sitting on the bed.

“Oh, bourbon!” Elena called out and tried to find a bottle that still had some liquid amber left.

“Really, Elena?” Stefan sighed and sat down at the table. “You notice the bourbon but not the vampire on the bed?”

“Huh?” Elena looked up from her search. “Oh… eh… Hey.”

“What are you doing here?” Kathrine asked with a glare at Stefan but her gaze soon turned to Elena, or more precisely, Elena’s neck, as she licked her lips.

“None of your business.” Stefan answered simply.

“So hungry.” Kathrine sighed, then she was up and had Elena pushed against a wall with the intention of sinking her fangs into her neck before Stefan could react.

Suddenly Kathrine was ripped of Elena by the neck and had an angry looking hybrid glaring at her, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”

“Klaus.” Elena beamed, then she turned to Elijah and her smiled softened. “Elijah.”

“Hello, Elena.” Elijah smiled back. “It pleases me to see you alive.”

“I'm happy you trusted me and didn’t have to go through with the plan.” Elena walked over to him. “No one should be forced to kill their own brother.”

Elijah grabbed her hand had kissed the top of in in a gesture of gratefulness. Then he turned towards Kathrine with a glare, “Katerina.”

“So, what can I do for you, Elena.” Klaus asked as he threw Kathrine down on the floor.

“We need your help.” Elena admitted softly.

“For my brother.” Stefan added as he stepped forward.

“Well, whatever it is, it’s going to have to wait a tick.” Klaus smirked at Stefan but his look turned apologetic as he turned to Elena. “You see, I have an obligation to my brother that requires my immediate attention.”

“Elena knows and understands how important family is and I assume, so do you, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.” Elijah addressed Stefan. “My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own.”

“And so I shall.” Klaus showed a dagger through Elijah’s chest, killing him. Then he had Stefan against a wall with a stake in one hand.

“Elijah!” Elena tried to run to him.

“Katerina, grab and hold Elena in place, but be gentle!” Klaus ordered but also emphasized on Kathrine being gentle with her.

Elena tried to struggle in Kathrine’s grip, feeling tears gather in her eyes as she looked at Elijah’s desiccated body. Why did she feel so sad and like there was a hand squeezing her heart?

“Now, what am I gonna do with you?” Klaus stabbed Stefan with the stake he was holding. “Do you feel that? It’s scraping against your heart and the slightest little movement and your dead.”

“Please don’t kill him.” Elena pleaded softly, not being able to handle Elijah ‘dying’ and Stefan being stabbed so she let her tears fall. “We’re just trying to help his brother.”

“Damon’s been bitten by a werewolf.” Stefan groaned out.

“The witches said that you had a cure.” Elena explained quickly.

“Make me a deal.” Stefan looked at Klaus. “Just give me the cure and I’ll do whatever you want.”

Klaus pulled the stake out, letting Stefan fall to the floor and walked over to the counter to pour himself a glass of blood.

“Trouble is, I don’t know if you'd be any good to me the way you are now.” Klaus hummed as he turned and leaned against the counter.

“What do you mean?” Stefan asked as he stood up from the floor slowly.

“You are just shy of useless.” Klaus huffed, then he turned to look at Elena up and down with a mock leer, but Elena could see in his eyes that he wasn’t being serious. “At least Elena would have some uses but I like and respect her too much for that.”

“Thank you.” Elena murmured softly to which Klaus nodded at her. If sex was what Klaus would have wanted for the cure, she would have agreed without a thought but she was relieved that she didn’t have to. Sex terrified her, especially after the whole thing that happened with Tanner and then Brady.

“I heard about this one vampire, crazy bloke, always on and off the wagon for decades.” Klaus stood in front of Stefan. “When he was off, he was magnificent. 1917, he went into Monterrey and wiped out an entire migrant village… A true ripper. Sounds familiar?”

“I want to kill a whole village and make it a ghost town or something.” Elena muttered with a thoughtful look on her face, trying to keep her mind of Elijah and his ‘death’.

“I haven't been that way in a very long time.” Stefan said, ignoring Elena, even as Klaus sent her an impressed look.

“Well, that’s the kind of vampire I can make a deal with.” Klaus turned back to Stefan. “That is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town.”

“How do I even know that you have the cure?” Stefan asked as he looked at Klaus.

“Katerina, come here.” Klaus ordered and as Kathrine walked over, Klaus face changed and he bit down on his arm.

“No, no, no, no…” Kathrine looked freaked out as he stared at his arm in disbelief.

Klaus bit down on his own wrist and made Aiden drink his blood. And as Stefan, Elena and Klaus looked at Aiden, his wound healed.

“You want the cure?” Klaus asked with a smirk. “There it is.”

“Your blood is the cure.” Stefan breathed out softly.

“I sort of wanted to see if your bite killed vampires faster than a regular werewolf.” Elena pouted slightly.

“Gotta love mother nature.” Klaus said to Stefan before he turned to Elena. “We’ll have to put that to the test sometime, you and I.”

“Looking forward to it.” Elena chuckled a little as she finally remembered that Elijah would be woken up by Damon at a later date, if Elena didn’t screw around too much with the time line that is.

Klaus put his hand on Stefan’s shoulder and led him over to the kitchen island thing, “Let’s talk.”

Klaus squeezed a knife blade tightly in his hand a while later to have the blood pour into a glass vial, with Stefan and Elena looking on.

“There it is. You want to save your brother?” Klaus looked up at Stefan. “How about a decade-long bender? And I have big plans for you when we leave this town.”

“Can I come?” Elena asked, she had always wanted to travel.

“You, my dearest Elena, are more than welcome.” Klaus smiled at her.

“Yay!” Elena did a little happy dance from where she was sitting.

“Elena, I don’t think your Aunt or your brother would be happy with you leaving so soon after you died.” Stefan told her with a look.

“Poodoo.” Elena muttered with a pout, she wanted to meet Rebekah when Klaus woke her up. Then she perked up as an idea hit her. “Wait, can’t I come and join you if you ever decide to go to a big city? I’ve always wanted to go shopping in a big city.”

“I think that could be arranged.” Klaus chuckled.

“Back to the point, I haven't been a ripper in several decades.” Stefan admitted as he looked at the blood in the vial.

“Well, that’s too bad.” Klaus started to pour the blood down the drain. “You would have made a hell of a wing man.”

“Wait.” Stefan said and Klaus stopped pouring the blood. “I just said that it had been a while, not that I wouldn’t do it.”

“Now that’s more like it.” Klaus smirked and threw a blood bag along the counter and as Klaus looked at him Stefan started to drink form it. “Finish it. All of it.”

“Can’t I enjoy it?” Stefan huffed but quickly drained the bag.

“Again.” Klaus threw him another bag.

“You were actually part of the ‘Thirty Year War’?” Elena asked wide eyed twenty minutes later. “Which side were you on?”

“Oh, dearest Elena.” Klaus smirked at her. “Both sides, of course.”

“Of course.” Elena laughed brightly. “It’s amazing, all the history you’ve seen and been a part of.”

“I have seen quite a lot.” Klaus smiled at her. He liked this doppelgänger; she was not like the others. She was not a manipulative bitch that played two brothers against each other like Tatia and she was not a scared little girl that believed in true love and fairytale endings like Katerina, who later became Tatia 2.0.

Elena was funny, ruthless, mischievous, loyal and bloodthirsty in equal measures and Klaus knew that if you gained her loyalty it would be a hard thing to lose. He wanted her loyalty and her trust, her compassion and her fire.

“Elena, if I asked you for a favor in the future, what would that cost me?” Klaus looked at her.

“That depends on the favor and how good friends we are.” Elena told him with a shrug.

“I don’t know yet.” Klaus smiled at her and then he turned to Stefan who was finishing his fifth blood bag. “You drink the last bag and the cure is yours.”

Stefan snatched up the last blood bag and started to drink it with gusto, wanting to get the cure for his brother as fast as possible.

“That’s the spirit.” Klaus took the vial of his blood and turned to Kathrine and compelled her. “Sweetheart, take this over to Damon and come right back.”

“You want me to leave?” Kathrine sounded confused but that couldn’t hide the hopefulness.

“No!” Stefan surged to his feet.

“Yes and if I were you…” Klaus didn’t even manage to finish the sentence before Kathrine was gone. “I’d hurry.”

“She’ll never take it to him.” Stefan started at the door.

“You mean because she’s on vervain?” Klaus hummed.

“You knew?” Stefan looked at him.

“I could smell it the moment she started to drink it.” Klaus laughed. “Which is why I'm doing this.”

Klaus pulled out another glass vial and filled it with his blood and held it out to Elena. “Take this to Damon and if Katerina actually gave Damon the first vial you can keep this for the future.”

“Thank you.” Elena kissed him on the cheek as she grabbed the vial.

“You are welcome.” Klaus smirked at her. “And remember, I’ll call you if we are ever in a big city.”

“Sounds good.” Elena smiled at him and then at Stefan. “Have fun and don’t get dead.”

XOXOXOX

Two weeks after Klaus and Stefan had left Mystic Falls on an epic werewolf quest, a crying Elena rushed into the boarding house.

When she had gotten back to Damon with the cure, she saw that Kathrine had actually brought the cure to him so she saved her own vial of blood for a rainy day. Then when she found out that Sheriff Forbes had actually shot and killed her baby brother, both Damon and Caroline had to hold her back so Elena wouldn’t murder said sheriff.

Elena had then spent a whole day wrapped around Jeremy to assure herself that he was really there. Jenna had also joined them, having been there when the sheriff shot her nephew.

After that Elena had decided to finally read through her fathers’ journals which led to now, as she ran up to Damon and wrapped her arms around him while sobbing into his chest.

“Elena?” Damon asked even as he wrapped his arms around the sobbing young woman. “What’s going on? Why are you sad?”

“My da… Greyson,” Elena refused to call that man her dad at the moment.

“What about him?” Damon slowly coxed a crying Elena to the couch.

“I've started to read his journals.” Elena murmured, still not pulling her face away from Damons chest.

“Whatever it is it can’t be that bad, right?” Damon encouraged. “Did he cheat on your mom or something?”

“No, he worked for the people that experiments and tortures vampires.” Elena wailed quietly.

“What?” Damon sounded confused.

“Greyson worked for something called Augustine.” Elena pulled back and she looked absolutely devastated. “And they hurt vampires.”

“Elena…” Damon didn’t know what to say, he hadn’t thought about Augustine in years.

“And that’s not even the worst part.” Elena sobbed. “He had written detailed descriptions of how he experimented and tortured a vampire ‘for science’. And he didn’t call the vampire by name, like this vampire wasn’t even a person, he just called him 12144.”

“What did you say?” Damon startled and pulled back.

“Greyson experimented and tortured vampires for science?” Elena asked as the tears continued to fall.

“Not that, what number did you say?” Damon demanded to know.

“12144.” Elena repeated.

“Elena… I know who that is.” Damon got up and started to pace.

“How can you know that?” Elena wiped her cheeks with her shirt.

“Because I used to be an Augustine vampire.” Damon admitted. “They called me 21051.”

“Did Greyson….?!” Elena looked almost sick.

“No, no, no, I escaped in 1958 after having been there for 5 years.” Damon pulled her into his arms again and proceeded to tell her about his time at Augustine, and finished shamefully. “And to save us I thought I had to turn off my emotions so I could stop being sacred and have rational thoughts but after I shut them off, I just left my best friend to die, not caring in the slightest.”

“He’s not dead, Damon.” Elena told him. “He’s still there.”

“What?” Damon looked devastated. “I thought he was dead…. I left him to be tortured for 50 years… I need to get him out.”

Damon started to walked, or more like stumble, towards the door, but Elena managed to pull him back to the couch.

“We can’t just rush in there without a plan.” Elena declared. “And we need more people.”

“We?” Damon looked at her.

“Of course I'm going to help, he’s your friend.” Elena said like it was obvious. “And we can even ask Mason and Tyler to help.”

“We’ll help.” Mason spoke up from where he and Tyler entered.

“We don’t even know what they want help with.” Tyler huffed out a laugh.

“No but they are pack and we always help pack.” Mason, who had taken of the talisman so he looked like himself, said. “And especially if it’s the Alpha asking.”

“I'm so happy that you're back.” Elena was up and pulled Mason into a hug.

“Missed you, Alpha.” Mason murmured as he pressed his face into her neck and took deep, steady breaths.

“Welcome back, Tyler.” Elena hugged him after Mason had let go of her.

“Thanks Elena.” Tyler said as he fought with himself to bury his face in her neck.

“Don’t fight it, kiddo.” Mason hummed as he walked over to drag a hand along Damon’s arm. “She’s our Alpha, it’s natural to feel the need to breath in her scent and be calmed by it.”

“It’s okay.” Elena reassure him and then Tyler finally wrapped her tightly in his arms and buried his face in her neck.

“So what did you need help with?” Mason asked as he watched Elena stroke the hair at the back of Tyler’s neck.

Damon and Elena took turns explaining Augustine and the rescue mission.

“I'm in.” Mason shrugged.

“Sure, why not.” Tyler nodded.

Elena smiled deviously as she explained her plan to get one Lorenzo St. John away from Augustine and how to kill every last one of the people working for them.

“Hello, are you Wes Maxfield?” Elena asked as she knocked on the door to an open office three days later.

“Yes, how can I help you?” Wes looked up at her.

“My name is Elena Gilbert and this is my younger brother Jeremy.” Elena introduced herself and her brother. “We just found our fathers journal and learned about Augustine and we wanted to know more.”

“Greyson’s children.” Wes looked delighted to meet them. “What do you want to know?”

“Well, I refuse to say anything more until I know you have some form of vervain on you.” Elena lied quickly. “I don’t want anyone to be able to compel you to tell them about me and my brother.”

“I have this watch.” Wes assured as he showed the wrist watched to them.

“Is that the only thing?” Jeremy asked skeptically. “I have vervain in my ring, in my belt and I drink it every morning.”

“You are really prepared and drinking it seems like a great idea.” Wes hummed. “I only have my watch but after this I will start drinking it to.”

“That’s good.” Elena smirked. “That will make it easier to compel you.”

“What?” Wes wasn’t able to get any further before Damon had vamp-sped into the office, pulled of his vervain watch and compelled him.

“You will not be scared; you will take us to the Augustine vampire know as 12144 without alerting anyone or anything about what I am or that Elena and Jeremy know and works with a vampire.” Damon compelled and after Wes had repeated the compulsion he said. “Now lead the way.”

Wes led them and Mason and Tyler, who had met up with them in the corridor outside of the office, down a secret door into a torture basement. When they arrived in the medical examination room, better known as the torture chamber, Damon compelled Wes to be quiet and stand in a corner until Elena called for him.

Together Jeremy, Tyler, Mason and Damon killed the scientists that were standing around Enzo while Elena ran straight up to the vampire.

“Are you my guardian angel?” Enzo asked as he looked at Elena.

“I'm no angel, I like killing people too much.” Elena chuckled as she started to put Enzo’s chest back together again. Luckily the scientists had just started and only managed to cut his skin and pull it to the side.

“How did you find me if you are not an angel?” Enzo kept looking at her with shining eyes.

“I found my so-called fathers, who I shall hate for quite some time, journals and he worked for Augustine before his death.” Elena explained quickly. “And when I told Damon, who I assume you know, he tried to run in half drunk to rescue you.”

“Damon?” Enzo asked looking equal parts angry as hopeful.

“Hi, Enz.” Damon came up to his side with tears running down his cheeks. “I can never apologize enough for leaving you.”

“Why did you?” Enzo demanded to know as he sat up.

“At first it was because I was scared and I thought if I turned my emotions off, I could stop panicking and actually manage to save you.” Damon sobbed a little. “But when I did, I just didn’t care anymore.”

“Wes, come here.” Elena called out and Wes walked over but you could see it in his eyes that he was doing everything in his power to resist the compulsion.

“What do you want now? Haven't you and your friends done enough?” Wes sneered. “Your father would be disappointed to know that you're working with vampires.”

“Not only.” Elena said.

“What?” Wes sounded confused.

“I'm not only working with vampires.” Elena smirked. “Damon may be a vampire but Tyler and Mason over there? They are werewolves. One of my friends is a witch. I'm a doppelgänger and I have the Original Hybrid on speed dial.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Wes asked.

Elena laughed brightly. “Because you won’t live long enough to tell anyone.”

“You're going to kill me?!” Wes called out in disbelief.

“I'm not.” Elena shook her head with a smirk. “But you see, Enzo here is feeling a mighty bit peckish and what sort of guardian angel would I be if I didn’t feed my charge?”

“Thank you, gorgeous.” Enzo said with a happy if a tad demented smile before he tore into the neck of one of the doctors who had tormented him for years.

**A/N: And that concludes season 2!**

**I actually wrote a draft where I used Kathrine as the vampire in Klaus’s sacrifice but I changed my mind. I'm going to need our little miss bitch in later chapters :)**

**Next chapter marks the beginning of season 3 and that shall be exiting :D**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	24. The Hybrid Birthday

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

Elena slowly got up from her bed with a sigh and walked over to her window to pull the curtains wide open. It has been three months since Stefan and Klaus left to find a werewolf pack to turn into hybrids and it seemed like they hadn’t had much luck yet.

Elena still talked with Stefan on the phone and over text very often, she even started trading texts and some calls with Klaus, which surprised her. She actually liked talking to Klaus, he had almost the same dark humor as her and he had seen so much history that it was unbelievable. One of the things that had resulted in her texting and talking to Klaus was that he asked her to call him Nik, which she gladly accepted, seeing as how the whole Klaus thing made her think of Santa.

She had also visited Finn, in whatever place he was in, three times since the sacrifice. The first time it happened after the sacrifice, Finn was so happy to see her that her grabbed her around the waist and spun her around. They usually spent their time talking about non-personal stuff and whatever else came to mind.

Elena smiled as she walked up to her wardrobe when her phone pinged to indicate a new text message.

_Stefan:_

_Tennessee is sooooo boring :C_

**Elena:**

**So, ask Nik to break your neck if you are so bored :P**

_Stefan:_

_Sympathy, Elena, sympathy!_

**Elena:**

**Sympathy are for puppies and kittens :D**

_Stefan:_

_Next time you want sympathy from me, I’ll remind you of this conversation >:(_

Elena chuckled at the last text as she placed her chosen outfit on the bed. A black top with a criss crossing plunging neckline, maroon colored skinny jeans, black combat boots and a black leather jacket matched with a simple black choker.

She took a quick shower and put on some eyeliner and mascara, then she quickly put on her clothes before starting to make her way to the kitchen. Before she got far, she decided to wake her brother up so he didn’t sleep the _entire_ day.

As she walked into her little brothers’ room, she couldn’t help but smile at the peaceful picture he made as he slept and she really hated to have to wake him, but needs must and all…

“Aaahh!” Jeremy groaned as Elena pulled the curtains up to let the sun in. “Early. Bad!”

“You're adorable Jere and I wish I could let you sleep.” Elena smiled at him. “But you can’t sleep the entire day away.”

“Maybe I could if you pulled the curtains down again.” Jeremy mumbled hopefully.

“Aim high, little brother, aim high.” Elena chuckled as she walked out of the room.

Elena pulled out her phone to call Caroline, hoping against hope that she wasn’t doing what Elena thought she was doing. “What are you doing?”

_“Just shopping for the party you're trying to bail out on.”_ Caroline hummed.

“I never said yes in the first place.” Elena groaned as she walked down the stairs.

_“You were never going to which is why I planned it anyway.”_ The laughter in Caroline’s voice was obvious.

“But… but…” Elena tried to come up with a good argument as she walked into the kitchen where she saw Alaric making coffee.

_“Come on, Elena!”_ Caroline mock whined.

“Fine, but were having it in the boarding house.” Elena decided with a huff even as she smiled at Alaric.

_“Yes!”_ Caroline whooped loudly, _“Bring Jeremy and we’ll meet at the boarding house.”_

“Wait, Caroline, just… keep tonight small. Please?” Elena pleaded.

_“Wear something pretty.”_ Caroline sing songed as she hung up.

“Ugh.” Elena groaned as she put her phone in her pocket.

“You don’t want the party then?” Alaric chuckled at her.

“Both yes and no.” Elena sighed. “And I would love to have a party as long as it’s just pack and family, you know?”

“I understand.” Alaric nodded with a small smile.

“By the way, how’s Jenna?” Elena asked. “I haven't seen her in a while.”

“She’s stressing over some assignment.” Alaric told her. “She tried to explain it to me but I didn’t understand anything. She asked me to tell you that she’s sorry she can’t be here for your birthday and that she’ll make it up to you.”

“Can you tell her we love her and we know she can do anything she sets her mind to?” Elena murmured as a yawning Jeremy walked into the kitchen.

“Absolutely.” Alaric nodded.

“Thanks.” Elena grabbed Jeremy and pulled him towards the door.

“Hey Elena!” Alaric called out. “Happy Birthday.”

Elena laughed, “Thanks.”

As the Gilbert siblings arrived at the boarding house, the first thing Jeremy did was walk into the kitchen to get something to eat, while Elena walked into the parlor to get some bourbon.

“Good morning.” Damon spoke up from behind her.

“Hey Damon, I was…” Elena turned around and force. Damon was standing behind her completely naked with a smirk on his face.

“You should learn to knock.” Damon’s smirk deepened. “What if I was indecent?”

“Ha! I knew it!” Elena started to do a happy dance.

“Knew what?” Damon frowned.

“That you and Enzo were making the beast with two backs, bumping uglies, doing the horizontal tango, bow chicka wow wow, doing the frick frack….” Elena trailed off with a big smirk. “Do you need me to continue?”

“No we don’t, gorgeous.” Enzo laughed as he came up to them, holding out a towel to Damon.

“And you don’t care?” Damon asked hesitantly, worried that she would be disgusted.

“Are you both happy?” Elena looked at them.

“Yes.” Enzo didn’t even think before he answered.

“Happier than I've ever been.” Damon admitted quietly.

“Then that is all that matters.” Elena pulled both of them into a hug.

“Lena, why are you hugging a clothed Enzo and a half naked Damon?” Jeremy asked a few minutes later as he walked into the parlor eating a sandwich.

“Because they just gave me the best birthday present.” Elena laughed as she pulled back from them.

“Okay then.” Jeremy shrugged and turned to the two men. “You two coming to Elena’s birthday party?”

“It’s going to be here, isn’t it, so we really don’t have a choice, do we?” Damon mock huffed, but the twinkle in his eyes gave away the happiness he was feeling.

XOXOXOX

Elena, Jeremy, Caroline and Tyler are at the boarding house, fixing it up for the party.

“Tyler, where is Mason?” Elena asked as she took some napkins from Caroline. “I haven't seen him in a while.”

“He has been staying with mom and avoiding Damon since he walked in on Damon and Enzo.” Tyler shrugged.

“I didn’t take Mason as being homophobic.” Jeremy said as he walked in carrying a box.

“He’s not.” Tyler told them softly. “But I think he was half in love with Damon and got his heart broken when he found out about Damon and Enzo.”

“Oh, that’s a bit sad.” Elena looked down. “Should I go and talk to him? Would that help?”

“Wait another two or three days and if he hasn’t come back around by then you can go and talk to him, Alpha.” Tyler advice slowly. “I think he’s just licking his wounds and binge drinking.”

“Is everyone going to keep the whole ‘Alpha’ thing going?” Elena groaned.

“Yes!” Jeremy, Caroline and Tyler chorused and then they high fived.

“I hate you all.” Elena mock grumbled.

“No you don’t.” Jeremy piped up brightly as he kissed her on the cheek.

“I should get home to get my clothes for tonight.” Elena laughed as she made her way towards the door.

“I’ll come with you.” Caroline bounced after her. “The boys can handle the rest.”

As Caroline drove them towards the Gilbert house Elena called Bonnie on speaker.

_“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!”_ Bonnie said as soon as she picked up.

“Thanks Bon.” Elena laughed.

_“So how is the birthday girl?”_ Bonnie asked with a chuckle.

“I'm fine if a bit worried for tonight.” Elena said as she looked at Caroline with a raised eyebrow.

“You don’t have to worry about anything.” Caroline defended.

_“Hey, Care.”_ Bonnie had a smile in her voice. _“You managed to convince Elena about the party, I hear.”_

“She didn’t convince me about anything.” Elena protested. “She just basically sprung the party on my innocent unsuspecting self.”

The car was quiet for a while until both Caroline and Bonnie burst out laughing. Elena crossed her arms over her chest and mock pouted, “Rude.”

Caroline and Elena talked with Bonnie for a while longer until they reached Elena’s house.

_“There is something I need to talk to you guys about when I get home.”_ Bonnie said, sounding a little worried.

“You know you can tell us anything, Bonnie.” Elena insisted.

_“I know, but this is big.”_ Bonnie murmured. _“Anyway, I hope you both have a great time tonight and I'm sorry I can’t be there.”_

“We’ll party for you to, Bonnie.” Caroline chuckled as they hung up.

A few hours later Elena stood in front of the mirror in Stefan’s room, looking at her outfit; long-sleeved mesh shirt, a sparkling gold skirt and black pumps. Caroline had done her make up in gold and black to match.

“You look good, gorgeous.” Enzo piped up from behind her as he and Damon walked in.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled, then she frowned at the small boxes that they were holding. “I think I remember telling you not to get me anything expensive.”

“I didn’t.” Enzo denied at the same time as a smirking Damon said, “I didn’t buy anything.”

“Did you steal me something?” Elena looked at Damon with her head tilted to the side.

“No, I found it.” Damon held out the box in his hand to her.

“My armband!” Elena gasped as Damon opened the box. “I thought I’d never see it again after Kathrine stole it.”

“Alaric found it in his loft.” Damon pulled it out and helped her put it on. “I thought it would make you happy to have it back.”

“It does make me happy.” Elena smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you.”

“My turn.” Enzo smiled and opened the box in his hand and held it out to Elena.

“Oh, they are beautiful.” Elena gasped. Inside the box there was Gold Plated Black Cubic Zirconia CZ Drop Earrings. “They look very expensive, though.”

“They weren't.” Enzo murmured. “They used to belong to my mother.”

“And you're giving them to me?” Elena asked shocked.

“It’s not like I'm ever going to have children and well…” Enzo shifted a little awkwardly. “You did save my life and my sanity.”

“Thank you.” Elena slowly pulled the earrings put of the box and put them on.

“Shall we?” Damon offered her his right arm as Enzo offered his left.

Elena laughed and grabbed their arms and together they walked out of Stefan’s room. When they came down the stairs the party was in full swing and as they walked past some people in the hallway one of the girls called out to her, “Hey Elena! Happy Birthday!”

“Thanks.” Elena called back as they continued to walk into the living room to see that it was filled with people.

“Oh, hey, hey, hey, hey. You don’t want that.” Damon grabbed an expensive bottle of bourbon from a girl walking past, then he compelled her. “You want the cheap young stuff over by the cheap young people.”

Elena laughed at him as the girl walked away and Caroline came over to them with a bounce in her step.

“Do you like it?” Caroline asked but quickly changed her mind. “Don’t answer that.”

“This is keeping it small?” Elena asked as Caroline just kept smiling. “What are we drinking?”

Caroline grabbed her arm and pulled her away. They spent around forty-five minutes just dancing and laughing until Elena felt the need to take a break. She walked out on the porch to get some fresh air when she saw Damon, Alaric and Enzo talking and decided to walk over to them.

“Hello Birthday Girl!” Damon greeted her.

“Hi.” Elena smiled and stole the glass out of Damon’s hand to take a sip.

Elena spent some time talking with the three of them before she walked inside again and made her way to Damon’s room.

“This room’s off limits!” Caroline called out from the bathroom.

“Caroline?” Elena walked into the bathroom to see Caroline holding a blood bag.

“Sorry, I just needed to take a break.” Caroline smiled at her and put the bag down. “Are you hiding?”

“Looking for you, actually.” Elena chuckled. “I thought it might be time for cake.”

“Absolutely.” Caroline beamed, then she gestured to the empty blood bag. “I just need a little more…”

“Would it help if you had a few sips straight from the vein?” Elena asked softly.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to make people look at you oddly when they see the marks.” Caroline mumbled a little embarrassed.

“That’s easily fixed.” Elena smiled. “You can either take from my arm and I’ll just change into another shirt or you can take from my thigh.”

“The arm would be best, I think.” Caroline said slowly. “There is a risk that I’ll take too much if I take from the artery in your thigh.”

“Arm it is.” Elena pulled off her shirt and held out her arm to Caroline.

“Thank you, Elena.” Caroline murmured as she bit into Elenas arm, in the middle of her upper arm.

After Caroline was done feeding and they had wrapped Elena’s arm, Elena walked over to Damon’s closet and pulled out a black button up, which she put on and tied under her breasts.

“How is Stefan, by the way?” Caroline asked.

“Last I spoke to him he was actually enjoying being a ripper without the black outs and the guilt.” Elena smiled.

“I'm happy for him.” Caroline smiled as they walked down to the party again, then she smirked. “And how is Klaus?”

“Why do you ask in that tone of voice?” Elena looked at her best friend.

“Well, he's gorgeous, tall, with the most adorable dimples, your words, and a killer accent” Caroline kept smirking.

“So what?” Elena asked.

“So get your flirt on girl!” Caroline wiggled her eyebrows at her. “And climb him like a tree!”

Before a blushing Elena could say anything, her phone rang. ‘Saved by the bell!’ Elena thought to herself. “I need to take this.”

“You can run, but you can’t hide.” Caroline called after her as she walked out on the porch to answer.

“Thanks for saving me from a very awkward conversation.” Elena said as she picked up the call.

_“You're welcome, love._ ” Klaus chuckled from the other end. _“We called to which you a happy birthday.”_

“Thank you.” Elena assumed the ‘we’ Klaus was referring to meant him and Stefan. Elena heard a pained shout in the background of wherever Klaus and Stefan were in Tennessee. “You two having fun?”

_“We are, actually.”_ Klaus laughed. _“Stefan is playing ‘Truth or Wolfsbane’ with his new friend and I'm drinking pretty good bourbon.”_

“Sounds like a blast.” Elena laughed softly, “I'm sort of jealous.”

_“Why?”_ Stefan’s voice sounded. _“Didn’t you enjoy your party?”_

“Caroline promised me a small get together, Stefan.” Elena grumbled. “This is not a small get together, this is a collage frat house party!”

_“Oh, poor, poor, Elena.”_ Stefan mocked her.

“Yes, you should pity me or who knows what will happen to all your hair products while you are gone.” Elena sing songed back mock innocently.

Klaus burst out into a roaring laugh as the threat, _“Thanks for the laugh, love, but we need to go now. Have a nice evening, love.”_

“Bye and have fun with your game and your bourbon.” Elena smiled as she hung up the phone.

Elena saw Alaric walking towards his car with Damon and Enzo and decided that if Alaric was going home, she would ask him to drop her off at the Gilbert resident.

As she walked into her room half an hour later, she saw the birthday card from Jeremy on her bed and she smiled. He must have put it there when he went home to change before the party. Elena laughed as she read the text on the card;

I'm Glad That You Were Born!

Life would be completely ~~fucking~~ boring without you!

She placed the card on her bedside table and walked into the bathroom to wash off her make up and brush her teeth. When she was done, she crawled into bed, sent a text to Caroline explaining where she went and the she shut of the light and fell asleep.

XOXOXOX

The next morning after a relaxing shower, Elena put on tight black leather pants, bellybutton top, dark red leather jacket and dark red high heeled shoes. She decided to complete the outfit with smokey eyes, dark plum colored lipstick and a choker.

Ten minutes later she was sitting at the breakfast bar eating a sandwich and drinking apple juice when Jeremy walked in and sat down beside her gingerly.

“You okay, Jere?” Elena looked up at her little brother.

“Yes… no… yes… I don’t know.” Jeremy mumbled as he started at the counter top.

Elena pushed away the breakfast and turned her whole body towards Jeremy, indicating that her had all of her attention. “Talk to me. You know I won’t judge you.”

“…” Jeremy muttered something to quietly for Elena to hear.

“You need to talk louder, Jere, I'm not a vampire.” Elena chuckled.

“I…eh…I might have… slept with Tyler.” Jeremy looked up at her, fear of rejection in his eyes.

“Was it consensual?” Elena asked softly.

“Yes, absolutely.” Jeremy hurried to reassure his sister.

“So… how was it?” Elena asked with a smirk and twinkling eyes.

“It was… amazing.” Jeremy sighed and sank back against the chair he was sitting on, then he gave a little wince.

“From the way you wince and move I assume Tyler was the pitcher and you the catcher.” Elena chuckled.

“Elena!” Jeremy looked like a stop light in the face.

“What?!” Elena started to laugh. “But seriously though, as long as you are okay and happy, that’s all that matters.”

Jeremy stood up and hugged her to him, “Thank you, Lena.”

“So, what are you going to do today?” Elena asked after a while.

“I'm going to talk to Matt about seeing his dead sister.” Jeremy sighed; he was not looking forward to that conversation.

“It’s a side effect of Bonnie bringing you back, right?” Elena asked softly.

“Yeah and it doesn't really bother me but it feels like Vicki needs to say something to Matt so here I am, Mystic Fall resident Ghost Whisperer.” Jeremy did jazz hands as he said the last part.

“Can you talk to mom?” Elena asked hesitantly.

“No, I can’t.” Jeremy looked a little sad at that. “According to what Bonnie has found, what I see is the other side and only supernatural’s end up there and mom and dad were completely human.”

“That is both sad and a relief.” Elena murmured.

“And what are you doing today?” Jeremy asked to change the subject.

“Well, first I'm going to go and talk to Damon and Enzo for a bit, mostly I'm just going to steal Damon’s expensive bourbon and then Tyler asked me to meet him at the grill.” Elena shrugged and went to put her glass in the sink.

“Yeah, it’s the full moon tonight and your scent calms the wolf down.” Jeremy nodded as he remembered what Tyler had told him.

“Apparently.” Elena shrugged, kissed Jeremy on the cheek and walked towards the door. “See ya later, little brother.”

“See you later, Alpha.” Jeremy called back with a smirk, resulting in Elena giving him the middle finger before she closed the door.

XOXOXOX

Elena walked into the boardinghouse while humming Sweet Dreams quietly to herself, but when she walked into the parlor she froze and then she started to smirk. Damon was straddling Enzo on the couch on the two of them were making out like teenagers.

She wondered how long it would take them do realize that she was there. Elena walked over to the alcohol table and poured herself some bourbon as she watched Damon’s shirt be pulled off and thrown to the side.

When Damon started to unbutton Enzo’s pants Elena decided it was time to make them aware that she was there. “You know, it’s not that I don’t enjoy the show, because I do, but I thought you had something to discuss with me?”

“Elena!” Damon jumped back from Enzo in shock, resulting in him falling on his back on the floor.

“Damon!” Elena called back and started to laugh.

“You said you'd be here around noon.” Damon accused as he stood up from the floor.

“It is noon.” Elena chuckled and poured two more glasses of bourbon for Enzo and Damon.

“Thank you, gorgeous.” Enzo smiled as he accepted the glass from her.

“You're welcome.” Elena hummed and held out the other glass to Damon.

“Wait, did you say you enjoyed ‘the show’?” Damon asked after he had taken a big gulp of his bourbon.

“Yep.” Elena sat down beside Enzo, ignoring the bulge in his pants. “Two gorgeous men making out, what more could a girl ask for?”

“Your mind is a dark, kinky and weird place, spit fire.” Damon chuckled.

“Thank you.” Elena beamed at him. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“We wanted to ask if we could borrow the Gilbert cabin for a little get away?” Damon rushed out, as if he was embarrassed to ask.

“Of course, you can.” Elena smiled at them. “You are both always welcome at the Gilbert cabin.”

“You are awesome, gorgeous.” Enzo kissed her on the side of the head.

“And don’t you forget it.” Elena bounced up and pulled out her keys from her jacket. “Here, that’s the key to the cabin, have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“I’ll owe you one.” Damon smiled as he took the key.

“Pack don’t owe pack.” Elena patted him on the cheek and started to walk out of the boarding house, but called out one lasting time, “Don’t forget to use enough lube!”

Before the door closed, she could hear Enzo choking on his bourbon as Damon burst out into belly shaking laughter and Elena smiled to herself.

XOXOXOX

Elena walked into the grill and looked around for Tyler, she knew she was early but if Tyler wasn’t here yet, she would just order some fries or something and read until he arrived. She saw him by the pool table and walked over with a smile.

“Hi, Tyler.” Elena’s smile turned into a teasing smirk. “I heard you had a good night.”

Tyler missed the shot as he choked on nothing and began spluttering. “Huh?”

“So how does it feel to have deflowered dear innocent Jeremy?” Elena chuckled.

“Alpha?!” Tyler looked both embarrassed and slightly horrified.

“Aww, come here.” Elena pulled him into a hug and Tyler nuzzled her neck as subtly as he could and she felt the tension of the full moon bleed out of him.

“I needed that.” Tyler murmured as he pulled back. “Thank you.”

“Any time, Tyler, any time.” Elena smiled. “By the way, have you seen Caroline? I've tried calling her but she’s not picking up.”

“We were supposed to meet and have lunch but she hasn’t shown up.” Tyler looked around to see if Caroline had walked in. “According to mom, she snuck out of the house this morning. That of course, mom thinks I slept with her and that Jeremy slept in the guest room.”

“I assumed your dad was homophobic but I thought your mom would be more open minded.” Elena hummed softly.

“She is but I think she assumed I slept with Caroline because I’ve never shown interest in a guy before.” Tyler told her. “But something odd happened this morning…”

“What?” Elena coaxed when Tyler trailed off.

“My mom put vervain in my coffee.” Tyler looked up at Elena.

“Do you think she did something to Caroline?” Elena asked with a harsh edge to her voice.

“I don’t know but we could ask her and then try and show her that Caroline isn’t a monster or something.” Tyler offered hesitantly, he knew that if Elena had to choose between Caroline and his mother, she would choose Caroline without a thought.

“Yeah that sounds like a plan.” Elena agreed and stared to walk towards the door. “You're driving, because I only brought one helmet.”

Elena and Tyler ran into Mason in the entrance hall of the Lockwood mansion and Mason quickly walked up to Elena and nuzzled her neck like Tyler had done earlier. As Mason took reassurance from the close proximity to his Alpha, Tyler and Elena explained the situation to him.

“I’ll go with you.” Mason said quietly.

“You okay?” Elena asked and stroked her hand through his hair.

“Not really, but I will be.” Mason smiled gratefully at her and gave a last nuzzle to her neck.

Tyler led the way up to his father’s old office where his mother was sitting at the desk.

“Tyler, Mason, what can I help you with?” Carol looked up, then she did a double take as she saw Mason holding Elena’s hand. “Elena?”

“You put vervain in my coffee this morning.” Tyler stated slowly. “Why?”

“Vervain?” Carol tried to act confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Let’s skip the part where we pretend de don’t know about the vampires in this town.” Mason scoffed quietly.

“You were testing me to see if I was a vampire.” Tyler said. “I want to know why.”

“You’ve been spending so much time with Caroline.” Carol explained with a sad lilt to her voice. “I had to know for sure.”

“What does Caroline have to do with it?” Tyler tried to protect Caroline but it sadly didn't work.

“Let’s skip the part where we pretend, she’s not one of them.” Carol looked at her son.

“Did you do something to her?” Mason asked with a low growl as he felt his Alpha tense.

“I don’t want Tyler to be with her.” Carol said as she looked between the three other people in the office.

“Where is she, mom?” Tyler demanded to know.

“I can’t let you be together.” Carol denied him.

“First of all, Caroline is my friend, nothing more!” Tyler raised his voice.

“I heard you last night, Tyler!” Carol stood up.

“That wasn’t me and Caroline.” Tyler groaned and blushed. “That was me and Jeremy.”

“What?” Carol sat down on the office chair in shock.

“That’s not important right now!” Mason growled louder this time.

“He's right. Now, what did you do with Caroline?” Tyler asked almost desperately. “Where is she?”

“You can’t be friends with her.” Carol denied again. “She’s a monster.”

“You don’t know about me and Mason, do you?” Tyler murmured lowly.

“Know what?” Carol wondered. “Know what, Tyler?!”

“Come on, there is something we need to show you.” Tyler said and started walking out the room, followed by Elena, Mason and a hesitant Carol.

“Are you sure about this, Tyler?” Elena asked softly.

“Yeah, I'm sure.” Tyler nodded, then he turned to look at Elena. “Do I have your permission, Alpha?”

“Why are you calling Elena ‘Alpha’?” Carol asked. “And why are you to deferring to her and why are you both touching her all the time?”

Elena ignored Carol and placed a gentle hand on Tyler’s cheek. “You have my permission.”

“Thank you.” Tyler leaned his head against her hand for a few seconds before they were all walking again.

“What is happening?” Carol demanded do know.

“We are about to show you.” Mason said as Tyler led the way to the old Lockwood cellar.

“Tyler, what is it?” Carol asked as they walked down into the cellar. “Just… just tell me.”

“You need to see for yourself.” Tyler explained as he picks up some chains and Mason does the same.

“What are you doing?” Carol sounded slightly freaked as she watched as both her son and her brother in law chained themselves up with the help of Elena.

“You think Caroline is a monster?” Tyler asked and then he gratefully accepted a scarf from Elena that was soaked in her scent. “Me and Mason are the monsters, mom.”

“What?” Carol looked scared and confused.

“Here, Mason.” Elena handed him her shirt, leaving her in her bra and leather jacket.

“Thank you.” Mason nuzzled her again.

“Tyler, what’s happening?” Carol asked.

“Come on.” Elena grabbed Carol and pushed her into the cellar and locked the chain so the door wouldn’t open as both Mason and Tyler grunted in pain.

Elena quickly sent a text to Damon, Jeremy, Stefan, Jenna and Alaric telling them where she was and that she not might not be able to answer if they called.

“Me, Uncle Mason, it’s in our blood.” Tyler explained as he grunted in pain again. “It’s our family curse.”

“What curse?” Carol demanded to know as both Mason and Tyler started to scream and grunt in pain as their bones began to break. “Tyler, what's happening?!”

“Stop screaming, Carol.” Elena said calmy. “They won’t be able to answer.”

Tyler looked up at them, his eyes are almost glowing yellow and his mouth is filled with fangs.

“Oh, my God!” Carol screamed and backed away from the door. “Ohh! No! Ohh!”

“If you haven't figured it out by now, they're werewolves.” Elena sat down beside the door as calm as a clam, whatever that meant.

“But how?” Carol almost sobbed. “Who bit my son?”

“It doesn’t work like that.” Elena explained softly as Mason and Tyler finally finished their transformation. “As Tyler said; it’s a family curse. Werewolves aren't bitten or infected, they are born.”

“I think I would have noticed if my husband disappeared and turned into a wolf every full moon.” Carol glared.

“Your husband hadn’t triggered the curse so he didn’t turn, but he was still considered non-human.” Elena hummed. “Otherwise the Gilbert device wouldn’t have affected him.”

“How do you trigger the… curse?” Carol hesitantly asked.

“That is not for me to tell you.” Elena looked at her. “If Mason and Tyler want you to know, they’ll tell you.”

Carol grew silent and observed as Tyler and Mason in their wolf forms rolled around in Elena’s clothes. “Are you sleeping with Mason?”

“What?” Elena spluttered out in shock.

“Are you sleeping with Mason?” Carol asked again with a stronger voice.

“What gave you that idea?” Elena chuckled.

“The way he was touching you earlier and he refused to let go of your hand.” Carol said like it was obvious.

Elena started to laugh which gained the attention off the two Lockwood wolfs. They slowly made their way over to the door and sniffed the air, then they started to wag their tails and press up against the door to get closer to Elena, their Alpha.

Tyler’s wolf form was a dark grey that almost looked black in the low light of the cellar, while Mason’s form was a lighter grey with some blond streaks. They both tried to nuzzle her through the bars of the door so Elena scratched them behind the ears and along their heads.

Carol tried to approach but both Tyler and Mason started to growl deep in their chest and the fur on their backs started to raise as they showed their aggression and displeasure.

“I wouldn’t come closer if I were you.” Elena told her. “Werewolves tend to attack and kill humans when they are in their wolf form.”

“But they are trying to get closer to you and nuzzle you.” Carol muttered confused.

“I'm their Alpha.” Elena stated simply as Tyler and Mason laid down outside the door as if to protect Elena.

“How long have you known about the supernatural?” Carol asked after a while as she sat down further back in the cellar.

“I've known for over two years.” Elena shrugged as she gently cradled her hand through Mason’s fur. “There are more supernatural beings in this town than you know.”

“Like what?” Carol looked at her.

“I won’t give you any names so you can’t try and hunt them down later, if that is what you think.” Elena glared at her and both the wolfs shifted as they felt the tension from their Alpha.

“I won’t ask for any names.” Carol assured quickly. “I'm just curious.”

“Well, there are werewolves as you can see.” Elena gestured towards Mason and Tyler with a smirk. “Then you already know about vampires, but we also have witches, ghosts and doppelgängers. And that’s only the beings in Mystic Falls.”

“I assume that witches and ghosts are basically like the stories.” Carol murmured. “But what are doppelgängers?”

“We don’t really know what makes a doppelgänger.” Elena explained, even though she knew exactly why they existed. “But they are very rare, exact copies of another person and their blood can lend a lot of power in certain spells or rituals.”

“Have I ever met a doppelgänger?” Carol looked at Elena as she snorted.

“Oh, dear Carol, you are talking to one right now.” Elena chuckled.

“What?” Carol looked shocked.

“I'm a doppelgänger.” Elena hummed. “And if you have ever met me with curly hair than you have met my ancestor and doppelgänger; Kathrine Peirce.”

“I recognize that name.” Carol looked thoughtful.

“You should.” Elena nodded. “She was the ward of Giuseppe Salvatore back in 1864.”

“Right, the father of the original Salvatore brothers.” Carol nodded as she remembered the transcripts from the Lockwood family. Then she frowned as she noticed Elena smirking at her. “What?”

“The original Salvatore brothers.” Elena started to laugh. “Damon and Stefan.”

“What… wait a minute.” Carol gasped. “Are you telling me that the Damon, who is on the council, and his little brother Stefan are _the_ Damon and Stefan from 1864?!”

Elena just raised her eyebrow at her, knowing that thanks to Elijah, Carol had stopped taking vervain which meant that Elena could ask one of several vampires she knew to compel Carol into forgetting that small detail if it was needed.

The rest of the night was spent with Carol asking Elena about what had been going on under the council’s noses in Mystic Falls. Elena told her everything in broad strokes but she refused to out either Klaus or Elijah to Carol, or anyone else for that matter.

Several hours later as Tyler and Mason woke up naked Carol had come to grips with everything and smiled reassuringly at her son. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll make sure nothing happens to Caroline.”

“Thank you.” Tyler smiled tiredly but genuinely at his mom.

As Elena walked into the Gilbert house a while later, she smiled even though she was exhausted. She was happy for Tyler that his mother seemed to accept him both as a werewolf and as bi-sexual.

She slowly changed into one of Jeremy’s big t-shirts and walked into Jeremy’s room where he was sleeping soundly. Elena gently bent down to kiss him on the head while whispering ‘I love you, little brother’ before she walked back to her own room to crawl into bed and sleep.

**A/N: And so starts Season 3!**

**How exiting :)**

**Hope you guys like the chapter <3**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	25. A disturbing end to the behavior affair

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

Elena slowly woke up from a deep sleep feeling a bit confused. Whose chest was she sleeping on? And who was wrapped around her back?

“Rise and shine, sleepy head.” Damon’s voice sounded from above her head as the chest she was laying on vibrated.

“No, shh, keep sleeping.” The person wrapped around her back murmured into her neck.

“Damon? Enzo?” Elena mumbled confused. “What’s going on?”

“We got worried when you sent the next last night about staying with Mason and Tyler so you could explain to Carol about the supernatural.” Damon told her softly. “So, we decided to come over earlier this morning to see if you were okay.”

“When we found you sleeping, we didn’t want to wake you so we decided to cuddle you instead.” Enzo yawned at the end of his explanation.

“Okey.” Elena hummed and relaxed against Damon’s chest. “What time is it?”

“Around noon.” Damon started to play with her hair.

“Oh.” Elena murmured softly. “I should probably get up.”

“Nooo.” Enzo cuddled closer to her back.

“How about I cock some lunch?” Elena offered with a small laugh.

“Pancakes?” Enzo asked hopefully.

“Pancakes.” Elena agreed and Enzo sat up quickly.

“Hurry up, you slow pokes!” Enzo called out as he walked quickly out of the room. “There be pancakes on the menu.”

“I guess we should get a move on before he gets too impatient.” Damon laughed.

“I’ll be right there.” Elena smiled. “I just need to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth.”

“Shouldn’t you wait until after the pancakes to brush your teeth?” Damon asked.

“I feel like a scorpion has built a nest in my mouth; I need to fix that.” Elena walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Fifteen minutes later Elena were mixing the pancake batter in the kitchen while Damon and Enzo were cuddling by the breakfast bar.

“Do you want blood in the batter or no?” Elena smiled at them.

They were frankly adorable and Elena was so very happy for them both. She had never seen Damon so calm and happy as he was with Enzo’s arms around him and Enzo looked at Damon like he was the answer to everything.

“Blood.” Came the answer from the lovers.

“Blood it is.” Elena pulled out a knife and was about to cut her hand when Damon stood in front of her.

“What are you doing?” Damon looked at her.

“Putting blood in the batter.” Elena said slowly.

“We thought you meant from a blood bag, gorgeous.” Enzo spoke up softly.

“Well, I know that fresh blood tastes better than the blood from blood bags.” Elena shrugged. “So, I was just gonna put some of mine in the batter.”

“You don’t have to injure yourself for us, spitfire.” Damon said gently.

“I know.” Elena reassured with a smile and cut her hand to pour some of her blood into the pancake batter.

“Here, you silly goose.” Damon laughed and bit into his wrist so Elena could heal herself.

“Silly goose? Really, Damon?” Enzo laughed.

“It was the first thing that popped up into my head.” Damon pouted, not that he would ever admit it. “Shut up.”

Enzo pulled Damon into his arms with a bright smile, “I love you.”

Damon’s whole being lit up as Enzo said those three small words and Elena felt a pang of sadness hit her. Damon was so unused to people actually choosing him first and loving him without an ulterior motive that it made her sad.

Elena quickly turned around and mixed the blood with the batter so the others wouldn’t notice the tears in her eyes. “So, what are your plans for today?”

“We were going to go to the cabin and just be with each other for a while.” Damon said with a look that said that he would be blushing if he could.

“Aww, you two are adorable.” Elena gushed as she turned around and saw Enzo with his face nuzzling Damon’s neck. “Will you leave right after the pancakes?”

“Yeah, we are already packed and ready.” Enzo hummed as he teasingly nipped at Damon’s throat.

As she started pouring the batter in the heated pan, Elena started to hum, jumping between one song and the next without conscious thought. When all the batter was made into pancakes, she placed one plates in front of Enzo and the other in front of Damon.

“Dig in.” Elena smiled happily at them as she took her own small plate of pancakes, hers without the blood, and sat down opposite the vampires at the breakfast bar.

“These are heavenly.” Enzo moaned as he stuffed more pancakes in his mouth.

“I'm glad you like them.” Elena chuckled.

After Enzo and Damon had helped her with the diches and then left to go to the Gilbert cabin Elena decided to take a shower and then maybe just laze around in her underwear and one of Jeremy’s shirts.

XOXOXOX

Elena had been laying around on her bed for around thirty minutes after her shower when her phone rang. And when she saw it was Stefan she decided to have a little fun, “Gilbert’s crematorium, you ghost ‘em, we’ll roast ‘em.”

_“What?”_ Stefan asked with a chuckle as she heard Klaus laughing in the background.

“Steffy, what can I, the oh so busy doppelgänger, do for you on this fine day?” Elena hummed teasingly.

_“You're not doing anything.”_ Stefan countered with an amused huff.

“I could be!” Elena protested.

_“You answered your phone very quickly, indicating that you were holding it and the only time you actively hold your phone is when you're bored and have nothing to do.”_ Stefan said patiently.

“I could’ve been watching porn.” Elena huffed.

_“She sounds much more fun than the other doppelgängers.”_ Elena heard a female voice in the background as well as Klaus deep laugh.

“Who was that female voice?” Elena asked, though she assumed it was Rebekah. “Does wittle Stefan have a girlfriend?”

_“Can we focus on why I called?”_ Stefan tried to change the subject, sounding embarrassed.

_“I like her, Nik.”_ Rebekah giggled.

_“She’s quite fun, yes.”_ Klaus chuckled.

“Sure we can, but don’t think I’ll forget.” Elena smirked. “What can I help you with?”

_“Do you remember the necklace I gave to Caroline? The one filled with vervain?”_ Stefan asked.

“Yeah, Caroline gave it to me when she was turned.” Elena told him. “Why?”

_“Turns out that the necklace didn’t actually belong to me.”_ Stefan groaned awkwardly. _“It turns out that I knew Klaus and his sister Rebekah back in the twenties and the necklace is hers.”_

“HA! I knew you had a girlfriend.” Elena crowed as she wiggled on the bed.

_“Elena! Focus!”_ Stefan snapped at her with amusement.

“Oh, right, sorry.” Elena chuckled awkwardly. “What do you want me to do?”

_“Could you bring it here to us?”_ Stefan asked slowly.

“Absolutely, but you're paying for the gas.” Elena ordered him. “Where are you?”

_“Well, love, I did promise to call when we were in a big city.”_ Klaus took the phone from Stefan. _“So, if you would be a dear and come to Chicago with the necklace, that would be grand.”_

“Chicago?!” Elena asked exited.

_“Chicago.”_ Klaus laughed in agreement. _“And to sweeten the long trip I’ll even pay for anything you buy as long as you help my sister in getting a whole new wardrobe.”_

“Nik, my beloved hybrid friend.” Elena breathed out. “I could kiss you and you have a deal!”

_“I might take you up on that.”_ Klaus chuckled deeply.

“Where should I meet you?” Elena asked again, ignoring the blush she could feel rising on her face.

_“Meet us a Gloria’s Bar.”_ Stefan said as he took the phone back. _“And drive safe.”_

“Yes ‘mom’.” Elena hung up with a laugh. She almost squealed in excitement as she kicked her feet in the air. She was going to Chicago!

Elena quickly walked over to the wardrobe to get the biker outfit that Rose had bought for her as a gift before she left to meet up with Lexi. Black faux leather pants, tight white top, high heeled, knee high boots and a dark grey, almost black, jean jacket with lots of sippers.

She put Rebekah’s necklace around her neck so she wouldn’t lose it and then she sent a text to everyone in her Pack. She told them where she was going and that she would be careful before she picked up her Matt black helmet and walked out to her bike. Chicago better be ready for Elena Gilbert, because she was going to kick names and take ass… or was it the other way around?

XOXOXOX

Elena pulled up to the clothing store that Stefan had called to tell her about. Apparently, Klaus had become annoyed at the witch he was talking to and decided that they should meet Elena somewhere else instead.

As she walked into the store, she saw Klaus and Stefan sitting on a couch, drinking champagne, obviously waiting for Rebekah who must have been in the changing room.

“There must be more to this dress.” Rebekah complained from the changing room.

“There’s not.” Klaus had a smirk in his voice.

“So women in the 21st century dress like prostitutes, then.” Rebekah walked out of the fitting room.

“Not all of us and not all the time.” Elena piped up making Klaus and Stefan jump.

“You know, I got dirty looks for wearing trousers.” Rebekah smirked as she met Elena, who had started to walk around the couch, half way.” Hi, I'm Rebekah.”

“Elena, but I think you already figured that out.” Elena laughed.

“You wore trousers so women today could wear nothing.” Klaus pointed out and then he smiled at Elena. “Hello, love.”

“Nik.” Elena smiled back, then she smirked and ruffled Stefan’s hair. “Steffy.”

“Do you have to keep treating me like I'm your younger brother?” Stefan mock grumbled as he tried to fix his hair.

“Yes. Technically you are physically younger than me so…” Elena laughed. “Suck it up, pretty boy.”

“I'm not pretty.” Stefan leaned back with a pout and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Of course not.” Elena patted his head making Rebekah laugh.

“What is this music?” Rebekah asked with a frown. “It sounds like a cable car accident.”

“It’s dance music.” Stefan stated.

“People actually dance to this?” Rebekah looked shocked.

“Yeah.” Elena nodded. “But something you should know about this time is that a lot of things are based and built on sex and nakedness.”

“Ugh, really?” Rebekah asked with a frown.

“Are we done?” Klaus wondered as he swirled the champagne around in his glass.

“You’ve never been shopping with a woman, have you?” Elena chuckled.

“No, but what has that got to do with anything?” Klaus looked at her.

“If we are done in three hours, we have been very fast.” Elena smirked at him.

“Just nod and smile, nod and smile.” Stefan whispered to Klaus.

“Oh, Rebekah!” Elena gasped as she remembered why she was there. She pulled the necklace from her neck and handed it to Rebekah. “I think this belongs to you.”

“My necklace.” Rebekah smiled brightly and took it. After she had put it on, she turned to the guys and gestured to the dress. “So, what do you think?”

“Truthfully?” Stefan asked and at Rebekah’s nod he continued. “It’s not really your style.”

“He’s right.” Elena nodded. “I mean, you're absolutely stunningly gorgeous and you would look good in anything but there are better dresses for you.”

“Thank you.” Rebekah preened at the compliment. “I like you better than the other doppelgängers. You're much nicer and also prettier.”

“Well, I have met Kathrine so the ‘nicer’ part isn’t so hard.” Elena laughed as Rebekah walked into the fitting room again.

“I need to get something to eat.” Stefan stood up, then he chuckled when he saw Elena hold out her wrist. “I was thinking a hot dog or something.”

“Oh, okay.” Elena laughed as she watched Stefan walk out.

Elena walked around the shop after she had discreetly checked Rebekah's size on the clothes she had already tried and picked up some pants, a top, shoes and a jacket that she thought would look good on Rebekah.

“Hey Rebekah.” Elena said and shoved the bundle of clothes into the fitting room, “Try this.”

“Okay…” Rebekah sounded hesitant but she started to change into the clothes anyway

A few minutes later Rebekah walked out of the firring room wearing dark blue skinny jeans, a white top, dark brown leather jacket and black high heeled shoes. “So, what do you think?”

“You look awesome.” Elena smiled in approval, making Rebekah smile back.

“She’s right, little sister.” Klaus agreed. “You look very nice.”

“Thank you, Nik.” Rebekah beamed at her brother, then she turned to Elena. “Help me pick out some more?”

“I would love to!” Elena bounced in place. “Any color you refuse to wear?”

“Not that I can think of.” Rebekah looked thoughtful.

“Guys, we have a problem.” Stefan said as he walked back into the store.

“And what’s that?” Klaus sat up straighter.

“Kathrine is in Chicago.” Stefan looked at Klaus. “I just ran into her.”

“How about you two hunt for Kathrine or even take the necklace to the witch while me and Rebekah keep shopping?” Elena offered, seeing how board both Klaus and Stefan were.

“Sounds like an excellent plan, love.” Klaus looked happy to be getting away from the shopping, then he handed Elena a credit card. “I’ll text you the code.”

Before either Rebekah or Elena could say anything, Klaus had taken the necklace form Rebekah and him and Stefan were gone from the store.

“Stefan told me a little about what has been going on in Mystic Falls.” Rebekah spoke up. “Thank you for trying to stop Nik from daggering Elijah.”

“I don’t think Elijah deserved to be daggered just because he was angry at Nik for ‘burying his siblings at sea’.” Elena’s stomach fluttered and warmth filled her chest at the thought of Elijah. “Anyway, let’s continue shopping, shall we?”

“We shall.” Rebekah laughed.

“We must find you something expensive to buy though.” Elena hummed and held up Klaus credit card with a smirk. “Nik is paying.”

Rebekah laughed in delight and nodded as they both drank some of the champagne that was left. “Can you go and pick some more clothes for me?”

“Sure, I’ll get right to it.” Elena walked off further into the store.

After a few minutes of looking her phone buzzed.

_Nik:_

_Don’t forget to get something pretty for yourself to._

**Elena:**

**Thanks, but I don’t know what to get.**

_Nik:_

_Lingerie ;)_

**Elena:**

**Keep dreaming :D**

_Nik:_

_I will :P_

After another hour in that store, Elena and Rebekah went to another one and another one after that one, six hours later they walked into Gloria’s Bar, both of them carrying several bags and wearing different clothes than the last time Klaus and Stefan had seem them.

Rebekah was wearing a grape colored dress with a small black belt at the waist, a black jacket and black high heeled shoes, while Elena was wearing black skinny jeans, black high heeled pumps, a black corset and a leather jacket.

“You did not?!” Rebekah gasped in amusement as they walked in.

“I so totally did!” Elena laughed brightly. “And Rose asked Damon to remind her to never piss me off.”

“What are you talking about?” Stefan asked.

“The time Damon used me as a threat against Rose if she ever betrayed us.” Elena smiled.

“Oh?” Stefan looked confused.

“I just told her that I was really curious about how long it would take for a vampire to heal if you flayed them alive.” Elena shrugged like they were talking about the weather.

“You are a wonder, little doppelgänger.” Klaus chuckled as he looked at her.

“Why thank you.” Elena smiled at him as she handed his credit card back. “And thank you for the clothes and jewelry.”

“You're welcome, kitten.” Klaus took the card with a smirk.

“Kitten?” Elena asked perplexed at the nickname.

“You are fierce and your bite is sharp but you are still adorable and beautiful.” Klaus told her. “Just like a cat or a kitten.”

Elena stood there for a while, then she just shook her head. “Okay, then.”

“How is it going for you?” Rebekah asked as she looked around the room.

“She’s failing.” Klaus glared over at Gloria.

“It’s not easy trying to find out something that the Original witch wants to keep hidden.” Gloria snapped back.

Elena ignored them and walked over to the bar to find some bourbon or at least something decent to drink. After looking for a while she finally saw a bottle of Maker’s Mark on a shelf, she tried to reach it but it was to high up when suddenly she felt a chest radiating heat against her back.

“Want some help, kitten?” Klaus purred in her ear.

“Can you reach the Maker’s Mark?” Elena asked and pointed at the bottle, wondering silently what Klaus was doing standing so close.

“Anything for you, love.” Klaus pulled the bottle down and gave it to her but didn’t back away from her.

“Thank you.” Elena murmured and quickly made her way around Klaus to get a glass.

There was a flash form where Gloria were doing her spell and said with flew against a wall. As Stefan ran over to help her up, she said. “I've got it.”

“So tell me.” Klaus huffed as Gloria sat down. “What do I need to make my hybrids?”

“Your mother was quite the smart woman.” Gloria mused with a chuckled.

“Will you just tell me?!” Klaus sounded annoyed and frustrated.

“The curse on the moonstone was twofold.” Gloria explained. “To break the lock on your wolf side you needed to drain a doppelgänger but the second curse was that for you to be able to make hybrid you need the blood of a doppelgänger.”

“Oh, that’s just cruel.” Elena muttered as she drank straight from the bottle.

“I don’t understand.” Rebekah looked confused.

“To become a hybrid, he needed to kill a doppelgänger.” Elena said to Rebekah. “But then if he managed that he would need the blood of a doppelgänger to _make_ hybrids.”

“And because he had already killed the doppelgänger, that wouldn’t be possible.” Rebecka nodded in understanding.

“Precisely.” Gloria hummed.

XOXOXOX

Two hours later found the four of them in a warehouse with the vampires feeding and Elena poking the one Rebekah was draining with a knife to see how long she would twitch.

“My girl is dead.” Rebekah drops the body to the floor as Elena stopped poking the girl. “I'm bored.”

“Nothing I can do about that now.” Klaus hummed as he too dropped the one he was feeding on to the floor.

“What is your plan now?” Stefan asked as he looked up at Klaus.

“Well, I need to find a werewolf to test the whole doppelgänger blood thing.” Klaus shrugged.

“Hold that thought.” Elena said and pulled out her phone.

_“Alpha”_ Mason said as soon as he picked up the phone.

“Hey Mason, how are you?” Elena didn’t see the intrigued look Klaus was sending her as Mason called her Alpha.

_“I'm doing okay.”_ Mason laughed. _“Except I had to listen to my nephew and your little brother going at it last night.”_

“Poor, poor Mason.” Elena mock cooed.

_“Anyway, what can I help you with, Alpha?”_ Mason chuckled.

“Do you know of any werewolf packs outside of Mystic Falls?” Elena asked slowly.

_“Not at the top of my head, but I can ask around if you want?”_ Mason offered.

“That would be great, thank you Mason.” Elena smiled in relief.

_“No problem, Alpha.”_ Mason almost preened at having pleased his Alpha. _“I’ll either call you when I find something or you could come to the Mansion when you get back.”_

“Sounds good.” Elena agreed. “Talk to you later.”

_“Bye Alpha.”_ Mason said as he hung up.

“I’ll tell you as soon as he tells me.” Elena smiled at Klaus.

“You never cease to amaze me, love.” Klaus looked at her with an odd look in her eyes.

“Shit.” Stefan hissed as he patted his pockets. “I think I forgot my phone at Gloria’s Bar.”

“So go get it and we’ll start the cleanup.” Klaus told him and stood up.

Three hours later, a tired looking Stefan walked back into the warehouse. Elena pulled him into a hug as soon as he came close to her, “What happened? I was so worried!”

“Gloria tried to do some spell or something on me.” Stefan told her softly.

“What sort of spell?” Rebekah asked as she walked over to them.

“I don’t know.” Stefan pulled back from Elena and pulled his shirt up, showing them the burnt handprint on his chest. “But whatever it was it’s taking a while to heal.”

“That doesn’t look good.” Rebekah frowned, then when she saw him looking at the coffins around them, she smiled a little. “Dreary, isn’t it? The Family cargo.”

Elena snorted and as they looked at her she smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, it’s just… ‘Family cargo’.”

“I'm surprised Elena hasn’t tried to undagger at least Elijah.” Stefan hummed as he looked around.

“I was going to but Rebekah talked me out of it.” Elena huffed.

“Because Klaus would hunt me down and kill me.” Rebekah looked at Elena who just pouted.

“Where is Klaus?” Stefan tried to find him. “There is something he and you need to know.”

“He will be back soon, I think.” Rebekah said, then she looked uncertain, “Stefan?”

“Yeah?” Stefan looked at her.

“I know that for you it has been 90 years, but for me it has only been a few days.” Rebekah looked a little scared. “So I wanted to ask if you thought there was a chance of… you know… you and me?”

“I'm a different person now than I was back then.” Stefan grabbed Rebekah’s hand. “You might not like this version of me.”

“Oh…” Rebekah looked down sadly.

“But if you want, we could go out on a date in Mystic Falls and then see where it takes us.” Stefan kissed the back of her hand.

“Really?” Rebekah looked at him hopefully.

“If you want.” Stefan smiled and Rebekah hugged him in happiness.

“Gloria’s gone.” Klaus came storming into the warehouse. “She’s cleared out.”

“You ruined a perfect moment.” Elena glared at him.

“Gloria has not moved. She’s dead.” Stefan said and proceeded to show Klaus the handprint on his chest and tell him what happened. “I was saved by Kathrine and she started to ask me about why you were running ninety years ago and about someone called… Mikael?”

“Bloody hell.” Klaus growled. “That fucking BITCH!”

“Calm down, Nik.” Elena walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. “Just breath and be calm.”

“We’re going back to Mystic Falls.” Klaus said after he had calmed down. “I've already loaded your bike and your bags on the truck, kitten.”

“Homewards, my brave knights!” Elena called out and began to giggle.

XOXOXOX

Elena woke up with a smile as she stretched on her bed. After they had arrived back in Mystic Falls, Klaus and Rebekah had checked into a hotel while Stefan and Elena had gone home to their respective homes.

She quickly got up and had a shower and then she put on black jeans with ripped knees, a black top, black shoes and grabbed the blue leather jacket from her closet as she made her way downstairs. She had invited Rebekah to lunch, and needed to get started so it would be done until Rebekah arrived.

“Elena!” Jenna almost tackled her in a hug as she walked into the kitchen.

“Aunty!” Elena called back just as enthusiastically. “I have missed you.”

“Aww, I've missed you too.” Jenna pulled back. “And I'm sorry that I wasn’t here for your birthday.”

“Your studies are more important than some day that people decided was important to celebrate.” Elena laughed.

“You are the best niece anyone could ever ask for.” Jenna beamed at her. “As for your birthday, I do have a present but it isn’t wrapped or anything.”

“You didn't have to get me anything.” Elena smiled softly.

“I know but I thought it would be fun to have an Aunt/Niece spa day.” Jenna chuckled.

“That sounds awesome!” Elena said excitedly. “When is it?”

“I thought we could go after my midterms.” Jenna offered.

“Definitely.” Elena nodded in agreement. “By the way, a friend is coming over for lunch, do you want to stay or are you busy?”

“I'm meeting Alaric at the grill but I don’t have to leave yet so I can help you with the cutting of stuff if you want?” Jenna smiled and she watched as Elena walked over to the fridge and started pulling stuff out.

“We’re making _Chicken fajitas_.” Elena told her and together they started to make the lunch, with Jenna not allowed near the stove.

“So, who’s this friend who’s coming to lunch?” Jenna asked after a while. “If it was someone I knew you would just have said their name.”

“Her name is Rebekah and she’s Elijah and Nik… eh, Klaus’s younger sister.” Elena informed Jenna.

“She’s an Original too, right?” Jenna looked up from where she was cutting yellow paprika.

“Yeah and she is awesome.” Elena smiled just as there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it!”

“Elena.” Rebekah stood outside the door wearing one of the outfits Elena had picked out for her in Chicago consisting of tight white jeans, pink long-sleeved shirt, beige jacket and light brown, high heeled shoes.

“Rebekah, come on in.” Elena smiled and held the door open.

“Thank you.” Rebekah gratefully walked into the Gilbert house and followed Elena to the kitchen.

“Rebekah, this is the best Aunt in the world; Jenna.” Elena introduced as they walked into the kitchen. “Jenna, this gorgeous, young-looking woman is Rebekah.”

“Nice to meet you Rebekah.” Jenna smiled and held out her hand.

“Likewise.” Rebekah shook her hand with a small smile, not being used to people, least of all humans, accepting her so easily.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Jenna asked. “We have Coca-Cola, Fanta or B+.”

“You would offer me blood?” Rebekah looked shocked.

“If you promised not to take to much you can have it fresh, otherwise we have blood bags in the fridge.” Jenna beamed.

“Blood bag is fine, thank you.” Rebekah mumbled confounded by these strange, accepting people.

“Elena told me that Klaus and Elijah are your brother.” Jenna said as she placed the glass off B+ in front of Rebekah on the breakfast bar. “It must have been hard growing up with two older brothers.”

“Four.” Rebekah piped up.

“What?” Jenna looked at her.

“I have four older brothers.” Rebekah smirked.

“Oh, you poor, poor girl.” Jenna muttered in sympathy. “That is horrible.”

“I love all my brothers.” Rebekah admitted softly. “But I have always wished to have a sister.”

“Well, I can be your sister if you want.” Elena offered hesitantly, she had always liked Rebekah’s character and hated how she had been treated in the show. “If it doesn’t bug you that I look like Kathrine.”

“Really?” Rebekah asked hopefully. “It doesn't bother you that I kill people?”

Jenna snorted before Elena could answer, “The more likely scenario is that you’ll have to help clean up one of Elena’s future killing sprees. It’s a wonder she hasn’t gone on one yet.”

“You want to go on a killing spree?” Rebekah looked shocked as she turned to Elena.

“Yeah, sounds like a fun thing to do, you know?” Elena placed the food in front of them.

“You really are much more fun than the previous doppelgängers.” Rebekah smiled, happy to have a friend who liked her for her without her having to pretend to be something she was not.

Before Elena could sit down so they could start to eat the doorbell chimed and Elena repeated what she said earlier when Rebekah knocked. “I’ll get it.”

Elena skipped up to the door and opened it, smiling wide at the person on the other side, “Nik.”

“Hello, love.” Klaus smirked at her. “I just wanted to know if your friend had found any werewolves yet.”

“He hasn’t called but I'm sure he will.” Elena reassured.

“Of course.” Klaus hummed. “Just how will he find werewolves?”

“Oh crap, I forgot to tell you, didn’t I?” Elena looked down in annoyance at herself. “I'm sorry.”

“If you tell me now, I won’t be mad, love.” Klaus assured her.

“I’ll tell you but please don’t be mad. Mason and his nephew, Tyler, are werewolves.” Elena looked at him with big eyes. “Please don’t turn them into hybrids if they don’t want to.”

“So, what you're saying is that I can turn them if I have their permission?” Klaus hummed in interest.

“Yes.” Elena said simply.

“Fine.” Klaus agreed. “But only because it’s you asking.”

“Thank you!” Elena hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

“You're welcome, love.” Klaus whispered in her ear as he hugged back.

“Hey, you want to stay for lunch?” Elena asked as she pulled back.

“I would be delighted.” Klaus agreed with a smile.

“Come in.” Elena said as she walked in and towards the kitchen with Klaus following behind her.

“Klaus you sort of already know my Aunt Jenna.” Elena said as they walked in. “Jenna this is Niklaus Mikaelson, the Big Bad Wolf and the Leader of the Cult of the Hybrid.”

“You, Greta and Maddox aren't letting that go, are you?” Klaus chuckled with a dimpled smile.

“Nope.” Elena beamed at him and went to get him a plate.

“It’s nice to finally meet you when you're in your own body.” Jenna smiled at him. “The dimpled smile is adorable, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you properly too, Miss Sommers.” Klaus nodded at her, completely ignoring the dimple thing.

“I hope the three of you enjoy your lunch but I'm off to meet with Alaric.” Jenna bounced up and walked towards the door.

“Have fun and use protection!” Elena called after her as she placed a glass of blood in front of Klaus.

The only thing Jenna did in response was to give Elena the middle finger before she walked out the door, making Rebekah and Klaus laugh.

“What are your plans for today, love?” Klaus asked as he took a bite of his food.

“Well, Bonnie asked me and Caroline to come over around 14:00, so I guess I'm going there after lunch with you both.” Elena smiled.

“Bonnie?” Rebekah asked.

“Bonnie Bennett, my witchy friend.” Elena chuckled.

“She tried to kill me, twice.” Klaus almost sounded proud of that.

“Then after I've been at Bonnie’s I’ll come home to change and then there is the senior prank night at school.” Elena told them, then she turned to Rebekah. “Wanna come with?”

“To the senior prank night?” Rebekah asked hesitantly.

“Yeah.” Elena nodded. “I mean you are technically seventeen and even though you don’t go to our school you might enroll in the future or something, right? And I could introduce you to some of my friends.”

“I would like that.” Rebekah smiled and looked down.

“Great.” Elena beamed at her. “Should I pick you up outside the hotel or do you want to meet at the school?”

“You could pick me up.” Rebekah told her.

“Sounds good.” Elena nodded. “But you’ll have to borrow Jeremy’s helmet if you don’t own one.”

“He wouldn’t mind?” Rebekah looked up at Elena.

“Nah, Jeremy is awesome that way.” Elena finished her food first.

Elena felt her phone buzz in her pocket and pulled it out, “Hello my furry friend.”

_“I'm not furry at the moment, Alpha.”_ Mason chuckled.

“Hmm, I don’t know.” Elena hummed. “You grow fur on your face every day.”

_“Funny.”_ Mason deadpanned but you could hear the laughter in his voice.

“I know.” Elena smirked. “What can I do for you?”

_“I've found some werewolf packs as you wanted.”_ Mason informed her. _“Do you mind telling me why you wanted me to find them?”_

“Do you remember Klaus, the guy I told you about?” Elena asked as she placed her plate in the sink, fully aware that both Klaus and Rebekah were listening in on her conversation.

_“If you mean the guy Damon told me you thought was Santa the first time Rose told you about him?”_ Mason chuckled. _“Then yes, I remember.”_

“Is Damon telling everybody about that?” Elena groaned as Klaus and Rebekah laughed at her.

_“Come on, Alpha.”_ Mason sounded very amused. _“You thought Santa Claus was real.”_

“Well, how should I know!” Elena defended herself. “I had just recently found out that there were vampires, werewolves and witches, Santa wouldn’t be that far-fetched.”

_“I guess you have a point.”_ Mason agreed. _“But back to the point, why did you want me to find werewolf packs?”_

“Oh, right. Klaus is a hybrid between vampire and werewolf, actually he’s _the_ hybrid.” Elena explained. “And he wants to turn some werewolves into hybrids but to do that we needed to find him some werewolves.”

_“And me and Tyler?”_ Mason sounded uncertain.

“Klaus promised not to turn you of you didn't want to be turned.” Elena said softly.

_“But if we wanted to?”_ Mason asked quietly.

“Then I would accept you both gratefully.” Klaus spoke up loud enough for Mason to hear.

_“Can we think about it?”_ Mason didn’t raise his voice, knowing that Klaus would be able to hear him either way.

“Of course.” Klaus said. “When you have decided you can tell Elena and she’ll get in contact with me.”

_“Thank you.”_ Mason murmured. _“I’ll text Elena the location of a werewolf pack.”_

“Much appreciated.” Klaus smirked.

_“Talk to you later, Alpha.”_ Mason hummed and hung up the phone.

“Thank you, love.” Klaus smiled at Elena a while later after Elena had forwarded the message of the location to him.

Elena smiled back at him as she started to clean up after their lunch.

XOXOXOX

Elena arrived at Bonnie’s place a few minutes before Caroline and could see that Bonnie was worried about something. She didn’t say anything, just sat down and watch her pace back and forth in the living room.

“Elena, Bonnie.” Caroline said as she rushed in. “I am so, so sorry if I'm late.”

“It’s okay.” Bonnie said with a queasy smile. “Can you just sit down beside Elena?”

“Bonnie, are you okay?” Elena asked after a while when Bonnie had just kept pacing without saying anything.

“I am about to tell you something I've figured out about myself and I'm freaking out.” Bonnie admitted.

“You know we won’t judge you or hate you for being yourself.” Caroline assured her.

“I know but…” Bonnie took a deep breath. “I'm a lesbian.”

“Okay and…?” Elena asked when Bonnie didn’t elaborate.

“What do you mean ‘and’?” Bonnie looked at Elena in shock.

“Bonnie, as long as you're happy that’s all that matters to me.” Elena smiled and stood up to pull Bonnie into a hug. “I love you and you are absolutely amazing just the way you are.”

“You are our sister in everything that matters.” Caroline joined in the hug.

Bonnie started to sob in relief at the acceptance from her friends, “Thank you.”

“So…” Caroline pulled back with a smile a few minutes later when Bonnie had stopped sobbing. “Do you have a crush on anyone?”

“Caroline!” Bonnie gasped and Elena laughed.

“What?!” Caroline chuckled. “I'm just curious.”

“I'm kinda curious too.” Elena smiled. “So spill.”

“Well, it’s not a crush but I've always thought that…” Bonnies blushed and looked down. “Caroline is really beautiful.”

“Aww, that is so sweet.” Caroline hugged Bonnie again.

“Yeah, she’s a gorgeous blond bombshell.” Elena agreed with Bonnie.

“So, have you ever kissed a girl?” Caroline wanted to know with a devious smirk.

“No.” Bonnie mumbled with a blush.

“Do you want to?” Elena offered. “We both know we don’t like each other like that but what's a little practice amongst friends, right?”

“Are you seriously offering to make out with me so I can get practice?” Bonnie looked shocked. “You're not into girls.”

“No, but I don’t judge and I don’t mind kissing.” Elena smiled.

“She's already made out with Bree more than once and then when my mom become suspicious about me, she offered to make out with me to make my mom believe that the thing I had been hiding was me experimenting with girls.” Caroline giggled.

“You are the best friend ever!” Bonnie looked at Elena with a bright smile.

“Thank you.” Elena mock bowed to them both.

Bonnie walked over to Elena slowly then, hesitantly she placed her lips against Elena’s soft ones. Elena was kind enough to let Bonnie set the pace off the kiss and they kept it to just a pressing off lips until Bonnie slowly brought her tongue out to lick at the seam of Elena’s lips.

Elena opened her mouth to Bonnie and the kiss turned a little heated until Bonnie pulled back with a smile.

“That was hot!” Caroline gasped from beside them and the three of them laughed.

“That wasn’t so very different from kissing a boy though.” Bonnie hummed. “The only notable difference is that your lips tasted like cherries and were a bit softer.”

After that, Elena, Caroline and Bonnie just spent time laughing and being with each other like the good old days, when there was no knowledge off the supernatural and everything was okay.

**A/N: And the changes keep on coming while still going along with some of the plot :)**

**Hope you guys like the chapter <3**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	26. Smells like the reckoning teen spirit

**Disclaimer: I don’t own The Vampire Diaries! If I did it would be hell of lot more gay.**

Elena stood outside the hotel where the Mikaelson siblings were staying, waiting for Rebekah to come out.

“Hey, I hope you haven't waited long.” Rebekah walked over to her with a smile.

“Not at all.” Elena held out Jeremy’s helmet towards Rebekah.

“Are you sure that your brother won’t mind me borrowing his helmet?” Rebekah asked as she slowly accepted it.

“I did actually ask and the only thing he wanted in return was to meet you tonight at the school.” Elena straddled her bike.

“I would love to meet him.” Rebekah chuckled as she got onto the bike behind Elena.

“I hope you like speed.” Elena laughed and sped away towards the school.

“That was so much fun!” Rebekah sounded elated as they arrived at the school.

“Almost as fun as vamp-speed.” Elena agreed and they started to walk into the school.

“Almost.” Rebekah nodded with a smile.

“Hey guys!” Elena called out as they joined Tyler, Caroline and Bonnie in a dark classroom. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought Rebekah with me.”

“Of course not.” Caroline smiled, then she turned towards Rebekah. “Hi, I'm Caroline.”

“I'm Tyler.” Tyler waved at her from across the room from where he was doing something for a prank.

“I'm Bonnie.” Bonnie smiled and blushed as she introduced herself to Rebekah.

“Nice to meet you all.” Rebekah smiled at them, feeling exited to have friends that maybe wouldn’t want anything from her except her friendship.

“Are you enrolling here?” Bonnie asked as she started tying some strings together.

“Yeah I was thinking about it.” Rebekah nodded as Elena showed her what to do.

“That’s awesome!” Caroline cheered. “With you, Elena, Bonnie and me, we would rule the school.”

“What am I?” Tyler asked, mock offended. “Chopped liver?”

“You can be arm candy.” Rebekah offered then she froze, what if they didn't like her sharp tongue.

“Yeah, Tyler, you can be arm candy.” Elena smirked and all the girls burst into laughter.

“You're not so bad.” Tyler smiled at Rebekah.

“And she's right.” Jeremy chuckled as he walked into the room. “You would make great arm candy.”

“Thanks.” Tyler kissed Jeremy.

“Hello, I'm Jeremy.” Jeremy walked over to Rebekah and held out his hand. “I'm Elena’s younger brother.”

“Nice to finally meet you and thank you for the loan of the helmet.” Rebekah shook his hand.

“No problem.” Jeremy smiled.

“So, you and Tyler?” Rebekah asked slowly.

“Are together, yes.” Jeremy nodded. “I hope that doesn't bug you.”

“I'm over a thousand years old.” Rebekah laughed. “After a few decades, you stop caring about what is seen as right and wrong.”

“The things you must have seen.” Caroline said with a faraway look. “Have you ever met royalty?”

“Yes, I have.” Rebekah chuckled, happy that they seemed to accept her even when they knew what she was. “Me and my siblings were even considered close to royalty in England in the 1400s.”

“That is so cool.” Bonnie gasped.

“Yeah, it had its moments, but the smell, ugh the smell.” Rebekah shuddered.

“Huh?” Caroline looked confused, as did Bonnie.

“They didn’t have any running water, so most people didn’t bathe very often.” Rebekah explained. “Plus, the piss and shit that the servant basically just poured out of the windows straight into the street… well, you can guess.”

“Eww.” Caroline shuddered in disgust.

Suddenly someone stepped into the room and set of the some of the mouse traps that Caroline and Bonnie had set up and when the light turned on, they saw Matt standing there.

“Ohh! Oh, come on! Seriously?!” Caroline groaned and glared at Matt. “Do you know how long it took me and Bonnie to set all this up?!”

“Forgot about senior prank nigh, huh?” Tyler asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Matt is sort of a friend but I don’t really like him. He dated Caroline for a while and the only thing he did was make her feel bad about herself.” Elena whispered so only Rebekah could hear her. “I’ll tell you more later.”

Rebekah gave a subtle nod to Elena to show she understood and then she turned to look at Matt. He was sort of plain, sure he had that handsome, sweet, boy next door look, but all in all, he was plain.

“How could you forget?” Caroline glared at Matt. “We've only been waiting for this since like freshman year.”

“By the way, Matt, this is Rebekah.” Elena introduced. “Rebekah, this is Matt.”

“Nice to meet you.” Matt nodded at Rebekah, then he turned to Elena. “I'm kinda surprised you are doing this.”

“Pranking people is a specialty of mine.” Elena smirked and picked up a bag.

“You're a devious genius, Alpha.” Tyler hummed and grabbed his bag and walked towards the door. “And I've got ten more classrooms to prank.”

Elena linked her arm with Rebekah’s and pulled her along as she walked away.

“Hey!” Bonnie called out. “Where are you going?”

“To superglue Alaric’s desk shut.” Elena laughed. “Rebekah is going to help me to create memories.”

“I love you!” Caroline smiled at her.

Arm in arm Elena and Rebekah walked out of the class room on their way to superglue Alaric’s desk. They see Tyler outside the classroom, giving instructions to other students while handing them rolls of saran wrap.

“Get the faculty toilet seats and Dana needs bodies in the gym.” Tyler told them. “Let’s go.”

Elena and Rebekah laughed and opened a set of double doors and Elena found herself face to chest with an Original Hybrid.

“Hello, love.” Klaus chuckled.

“Nik!” Elena laughed and hugged him. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm looking for Stefan.” Klaus explained with a frown. “Something is wrong with him.”

“What do you mean?” Rebekah asked with a worried frown.

“He has been muttering to himself for a couple of days and sometimes he gets this blank look in his eyes, like he isn’t really present.” Klaus explained.

“Last I heard he was helping in the gym.” Elena turned around to lead them there. “I hope he’s okay.”

“Play along, love?” Klaus asked as he turned to her with a little smirk playing on his face.

“Okay.” Elena chuckled.

Klaus grabbed Elena’s arm in a gentle grip and started to pull her along towards the gym. As he pulled her into the gym he spoke up with an American accent. “Attention, seniors. You have officially been busted. Prank night is over. Head on home.”

There were groans and grumbles spread through the gym as the students started to leave. Dana, who had her foot up, and another student didn’t leave, looking scared like they wanted nothing more than to leave, but couldn’t.

“I remember you.” Klaus looked at Dana.

“I'm sorry.” Dana looked scared but her voice was calm. “Who are you?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I wasn’t in my right head the last time we met.” Klaus told her making Elena snort.

“What?” Rebekah looked at Elena.

“Last time he met her, Nik was in Alaric’s body.” Elena chuckled.

“I almost didn’t think you would come.” Stefan walked calmly down towards them.

“Stefan?” Elena asked. “What's going on?”

“Dana, why don’t you tell Elena what is going on.” Stefan smirked.

“If I put my foot down Chad will beat me to death.” Dana said as if she was reciting.

“Stefan, what did you do?!” Elena looked at him.

“I'm sorry, the normal Stefan can’t come to the phone right now, want me to take a message?” Stefan chuckled.

“If you’re not Stefan, who are you?” Rebekah demanded to know.

“I'm the darkest, deadliest, emotionless part of Stefan.” Stefan hummed. “You see, when Bonnie failed to kill the hybrid the witches were pissed, so they used all the powers they had in their arsenal on the other side.”

“What…?” Elena started to ask.

“No, no interruptions!” Stefan growled at her. “Where was I? Ah, yes, the witches. They decided they needed someone to kill said hybrid and who had spent almost as much time in the old witch house except Bonnie? Stefan. So, they got into his head and started to repress him to make place for me.”

“But why did it take three months?” Elena asked.

“Because he was away from Mystic Falls and the witches influence.” Klaus muttered as he glared at the thing in Stefan’s body.

“Exactly.” Stefan nodded. “And while the witches wanted me to just kill you, I feel like having some fun first.”

“Fun? Fun how?” Elena looked at him.

Just then the doors to the gym opened and a man came in dragging a stumbling and bleeding Tyler with him. Stefan smiled, “Ah, just on time.”

“Tyler!” Elena tried to run to him, but Stefan caught her before she could.

“Not so fast, my dear.” Stefan said into her neck.

“Let me go Stefan!” Elena demanded.

“I'm not really Stefan, but you can call me…Stef, to make it easier.” Stef hummed and then his arms tighten around her as he looked at Klaus and Rebekah. “Do you really think that either of you can kill me before I kill Elena?”

“What's going on?” Tyler groaned weakly as the man dropped him to the floor, a pool of blood forming on the floor quickly.

“None of your concern.” Stef told him. “Rebekah, if you want Elena to survive, you'll go to her place and wait there until she gets home.”

“But…” Rebeka tried to protest.

“Ah, ah, ah, no protests.” Stef pulled a knife from somewhere and stabbed Elena in the thigh making her scream.

“Alpha!” Tyler called out and tried to get up to protect her, but fell back to the floor quickly.

“It’s okay, Rebekah, you can go.” Elena tried to smile at her through the pain.

“If you harm her one more time….” Klaus growled as Rebekah ran out of the gym.

“You’ll what?” Stef mocked as he licked a strip along Elena’s neck.

“Now, I'm going to find a witch and you two will stay here.” Stef hummed as he nipped at Elena’s neck, making her shudder in fear. “And if you try to kill me or leave this gym or even heal Elena, I’ll have one of my associates kill sweet, little Jeremy.”

As Stef vamp-sped out of the room, Klaus caught Elena before she fell to the floor as her legs gave out. After she had taken a couple of shuddering but calming breaths, Elena looked over at Tyler, then up at Klaus, “Can you help him? Please?”

“For you, love.” Klaus murmured and bit in to his wrist and gave it to Tyler who healed after a few mouthfuls.

“Thank you.” Tyler nodded at Klaus before he pulled Elena into his arms and breathed in his Alpha.

Klaus sat down beside Elena, letting her lean against him as Tyler almost crawled into her lap. It fascinated Klaus the way Tyler acted like a young pup seeking reassurance that his mother/Alpha was okay and would protect him.

“I should call Bonnie or Caroline and ask them to look for Jeremy.” Elena muttered and pulled out her phone and after ten minutes of conversation and with the promise that Bonnie Caroline and Rebekah, who Bonnie had called as Elena called Caroline, would find her little brother, Elena sat back against Klaus with a sigh.

“How are we going to get Stefan back?” Tyler asked slowly.

“I’ll call Bree for help as soon as we get out of here.” Elena murmured as she stroked Tyler’s hair.

“Who’s Bree?” Klaus looked at Elena.

“She’s a witch from Georgia that both me and Damon are good friends with.” Elena explained.

“Good friends, huh?” Tyler laughed. “From what I’ve heard from Jeremy you and her tend to make out when you meet up.”

“That is just tradition.” Elena chuckled.

“You have a tradition of making out with a witch every time you meet her?” Klaus laughed.

“It started the first time I met her and she kissed Damon and I asked if I could have one too.” Elena blushed a little.

“Well, well, seems like werewolves heal faster than I thought.” Stef called out as he walked in.

“Stay away from Tyler!” Elena glared as she pulled Tyler closer to her.

“Now, see, I can’t do that.” Stef said with a faked sad look. “You see, some of your friends managed to screw up some of my plans so this is just business.”

Before anyone of them could react, Stef had ripped Tyler form Elena’s arms and snapped his neck. Stef smirked at them as Elena let out a horrified painfilled scream and vamp-sped out of there.

“Elena.” Klaus said as Elena cried over Tyler’s dead body. “Elena!”

“Nik.” Elena looked up with tear-filled eyes.

“Remember, I gave him my blood.” Klaus told her gently. “He’s not dead, he's in transition.”

“Oh, right.” Elena sniffled and tried her best to dry her face. “We should take him to my place so he can wake up there.”

“Come along, then, love.” Klaus picked up Tyler’s ‘dead’ body.

Around thirty minutes later Elena, Klaus, Rebekah, Jeremy, Caroline, Bonnie, Damon, Enzo and Mason were sitting around the Gilbert living room, waiting for Tyler to wake up.

Klaus had explained to everyone what had happened, “… and after breaking Tyler’s neck he just vamp-sped out of there.”

“Thank you for healing my nephew.” Mason looked up gratefully at Klaus. “If you hadn’t given him your blood, he would be dead right now instead of in transition.”

Klaus just inclined his head at him, both of them knowing he didn’t do it for Mason or even Tyler but for Elena.

Suddenly Tyler sat up with a gasp, looking around himself frantically. “What happened?”

“Tyler!” Elena hugged him. After she pulled back the rest of their pack hugged him to.

“The thing wearing Stefan’s face broke your neck.” Elena told Tyler softly as Jeremy cuddled closer to his boyfriend. “And thanks to Nik’s blood you are now in transition, but the choice is yours if you want to finish it or not.”

“So to finish it I need to drink blood?” Tyler asked.

“You have to drink Elena’s blood.” Klaus told him from his place by the window.

“Why wouldn’t mine work?” Jeremy looked up at Klaus.

“It was a lock my mother placed on the curse that locked away my werewolf side.” Klaus explained. “To release mt werewolf side I needed to kill the doppelgänger but to make hybrids I need the blood of said doppelgänger…”

“Your mother sounds like a bitch.” Jeremy muttered.

“You’re not wrong.” Klaus chuckled.

Tyler sat quiet for a while, holding onto Jeremy’s hand until he finally looked up with determination. “I want to complete the transition.”

“That’s great!” Elena beamed as the pack breathed out a sigh in relief.

“I only have one concern.” Tyler turned to look at Klaus again. “Will Elena still be my Alpha?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Klaus shrugged. “Before this I had never even heard of a human Alpha before but there you go.”

Elena walked into the kitchen and came back with a shot glass, then with a smirk she walked over to Damon, “Fang.”

Damon laughed and brought out his fangs so Elena could cut her wrist on them to fill the shot glass.

“What?” Rebekah looked at them confused so Elena explained the whole thing with Stefan and the blood and the bourbon.

“And you just decided that Damon’s fangs were better than a knife?” Enzo laughed.

“Yeah, less dishes to clean.” Elena smiled brightly as she handed the blood-filled shot glass to Tyler.

He took it with a smile and drank the blood down quickly. Tyler looked up for a secund but then he fell off the couch moaning and almost howling in pain. It didn’t last for more than a minute but it felt like an eternity for the ones watching.

Tyler looked up at Elena with his hybrid eyes on display. Elena squealed and tackled him in a hug, “You're a hybrid!”

“How do you feel?” Mason asked as Elena let go.

“I feel… great.” Tyler smiled. “Everything is so vibrant.”

“I'm happy that you choose to finish the transition.” Jeremy kissed Tyler softly, not caring that he could taste the traces of his sister blood on his lips.

“I couldn’t leave you.” Tyler smiled at Jeremy.

“What I'm curious about is if Elena is still your Alpha or not.” Damon spoke up.

Tyler looked thoughtful before he looked between Klaus and Elena. “They both are.”

“Can you have two Alphas?” Caroline asked.

“Seems like it.” Tyler shrugged. “Elena and Klaus are both my Alphas, but it’s confusing.”

“Why is it confusing?” Mason placed a hand on his nephew’s shoulder.

“Because my instincts are telling me that Elena and Klaus are supposed to be mated because they are the Alpha pair.” Tyler blushed and looked away. “And the confusion comes from me knowing that they are not mated.”

“Fascinating.” Enzo hummed.

“Good day to you too, Mr. Spock.” Elena laughed, trying her best not to blush.

“Who’s Mr. Spock?” Enzo looked at Damon for an explanation.

“A character in Star Trek.” Damon smiled and intertwined his fingers with Enzo’s. “I’ll show you the movies and tv-series.”

“Looks like my blood is the key to making hybrids.” Elena hummed thoughtfully. “I guess we can fill two or three blood bags before you leave to make your hybrid pack.”

“Aren’t three blood bags a lot?” Klaus asked as he looked at Elena.

“Nah, as long as I eat and drink a lot afterwards, I should be fine.” Elena reassured him.

XOXOXOX

Three days later Elena was frantically pacing in the parlor of the boarding house, she hadn’t seen nor heard from her little brother in two days and she was worried. At first, she thought he had been with Tyler but when Tyler had called her and asked if Jeremy was avoiding him, she had felt a knot of worry and fear in her stomach.

“Elena we’ll find him.” Rebekah tried to reassure her friend. “Damon, Enzo, Nik, Tyler and Mason are out looking for him.”

“I know.” Elena gave a wobbly smile, then she gave a great big yawn.

“When was the last time you slept?” Rebekah asked gently.

“Two day?” Elena murmured. “I haven't been able to sleep since I found out that Jeremy was missing.”

“Take a nap on the couch.” Rebekah ordered gently as she led Elena over to the couch.

“But…” Elena tried to protest.

“No buts.” Rebekah interrupted. “You need to sleep and I promise to be here and wake you as soon as I hear something.”

“Jeremy…” Elena started again.

“Will not want you to get sick form the lack of sleep.” Rebekah gently pushed her down on the couch as Elena finally gave in.

“Okay, I’ll take a small nap.” Elena mumbled around a yawn.

_Elena quickly fell asleep and found herself in The Forest, the place she usually met Finn. She looked around to see if he was close by when she suddenly heard a joyous call of her name before strong arms wrapped around her and spun her around._

_“Finn.” Elena smiled as she was put back down._

_“Elena, I've missed you.” Finn smiled at her. “How have you been?”_

_“I've missed you to.” Elena hummed. “Life has been hectic and my little brother is missing.”_

_“I'm sorry, I hope you find him.” Finn looked at her with a sad frown._

_“Enough about the sad stuff.” Elena nudged Finn’s arm with her shoulder. “How have you been?”_

_“I have mostly been asleep.” Finn shrugged. “And when I've been here, I've tried to sort out my mess of memories and feelings.”_

_“If you want to talk about it, I’ll listen.” Elena offered._

_A while later Elena was sitting on a big rock with Finn in front of her while she braided his hair as Finn talked about feeling like an outcast in his own family._

_“I was older than them and always felt like they didn’t like me.” Finn admitted. “I did try to avoid them but that was because I didn’t want them to see my injuries and the pain, I was in.”_

_“Why where you injured and in pain?” Elena asked as she braided a small white flower into his hair._

_“My father was not a nice man but he became a lot worse after we lost my older sister.” Finn told her softly. “The injuries and pain came from the beatings I took so my younger siblings wouldn’t have to.”_

_Something about Finn had always made Elena feel like she should know him but there was something blocking her knowledge of what and that annoyed her greatly._

_“I'm sorry you had to suffer and that your dad was an ass.” Elena murmured softly. “But as an older sister, I know that there is no pain or even torture we wouldn’t endure for our younger siblings to have a chance at a pain-free happy life.”_

_“Precisely.” Finn agreed. “And I would rather they hate me and push me out then them being hurt by our father.”_

_“You’re a good big brother Finn, never let anyone tell you differently.” Elena bent forward and kissed him on the cheek._

_“Thank you, Elena.” Finn turned around and pulled her into a hug._

_“For what?” Elena asked even as she hugged back._

_“For being my friend.” Finn murmured softy into her hair._

_“Thank you for being mine.” Elena said back._

_They stood there for a while, just hugging each other as Finn took as much comfort from the hug as he could. It had been a long time since he had been able to enjoy physical contact and he relished in the fact that he could just hug her and she wouldn’t assume he was making advances or some such._

_“I think someone is waking me up.” Elena said as she pulled back from Finn a few minutes later._

_“It was nice seeing you again.” Finn smiled at her. “And I hope you find your brother.”_

_“Until we see each other again, I wish you a goodbye.” Elena smiled back at him before she woke up on the couch in the boarding house._

“What?” Elena asked with sleep still clouding her voice.

“Well, if you want to keep sleeping, I can come back later.” A voice chuckled from in front of her.

“Not funny Jeremy.” Elena yawned, then she froze and looked up. “Jeremy?”

“Hello, sister-dear, long time no see.” Jeremy smiled at her with a black eye and a split lip.

“Jere!” Elena tackled her little brother in a hug and started to sob in relief. “You're okay?”

“I'm fine.” Jeremy assured her as he hugged her back. “Kathrine let me go.”

“What happened, Jere?” Elena pulled back.

“I’ll tell you everything but I want to wait until everyone else are here to.” Jeremy stood up and pulled Elena with him to the couch. “Rebekah is calling them right now.”

They sat cuddled together on the couch while they waited for the rest of the pack to get back. Rebekah had joined them after she had finished calling everyone back from the search and poured herself and Elena some bourbon.

“Jeremy!” Tyler ran into the room and pulled Jeremy into his arms.

Slowly the rest of the pack came back from their search and smiled when they saw Tyler and Jeremy cuddling on the couch while Elena and Rebekah were drinking by the fire place.

“So, can you tell us what happened?” Tyler asked Jeremy gently after all of them were in the parlor.

“I was on my way back home after leaving your place yesterday morning when someone came up behind me and knocked me out.” Jeremy started his story. “I woke up with Kathrine standing over me and telling me that I would help her and if I didn’t, she would hurt me and the people I cared about.”

“What did she want?” Damon asked as he leaned against Enzo.

“She wanted me to use my ability to talk to spirits to talk to someone that would know of a way to stop Klaus.” Jeremy looked up at Klaus with a sad look in his eyes. “I refused at first and Kathrine broke my neck.”

“I'm going to tie the bitch down and then I will cut her open to carve symbols into her heart with a knife made of wood.” Elena growled as she started to pace.

“After I woke up again, she demanded I help her again and this time I agreed.” Jeremy looked at Klaus. “I'm sorry.”

“I don’t blame you.” Klaus said simply.

“The spirit I talked to said that Kathrine was looking for Mikael.” Jeremy continued and Elena saw both Rebekah and Klaus stiffen. “The spirit explained that Mikael was the vampire who hunted vampires and if Kathrine wanted his help, she would need to wake him up first.”

“Wake him?” Rebekah asked.

“The spirit explained that a witch had entombed him in the oldest wing of the largest cemetery in Charlotte in the nineties.” Jeremy told her. “After Kathrine had made sure that he was in the tomb, she let me go.”

“Rebekah, pack your bags.” Klaus ordered. “We’re leaving.”

“Nik, what's going on?” Elena placed a gentle hand on Klaus arm.

Klaus sighed and shared a look with Rebekah. “Mikael is our father.”

“If you can call him that…” Rebekah muttered.

“When we were human, Mikael hated me and would beat me for the smallest things.” Klaus said and even though everybody in the parlor could hear him, you could see that he was only telling Elena. “When he forced our mother to turn us into vampire after our youngest brother was killed by werewolves, he got even worse.”

“Nik…” Elena placed her hand on his cheek and looked at him and could see the pain and sadness in his eyes.

“The thirst for blood was overwhelming when we first turned.” Klaus continued even as he refused to look away from Elena’s kind eyes. “And the second I killed someone we found out that Mikael wasn’t my father and that just made him hate me more. Since then he has hunted us and made it his life mission to kill me and my siblings.”

“That’s the reason he keeps most of us daggered.” Rebekah spoke up, explaining to the others. “It’s not because he’s mad at us or hates us, it’s because he's trying to keep us safe.”

Elena had started to plan as soon as Jeremy had mentioned Mikael and decided to use the show as a reference, so with a dark smirk she said. “I have an idea.”

“I love your ideas.” Damon chuckled. “You are a diabolical master mind.”

“Thank you.” Elena smiled proudly.

“What was your idea?” Klaus asked her softly.

“We are going to pretend that we want you dead and thus luring Mikael here while you go and create more hybrids.” Elena told them her plan. “And when he gets here I will ‘make a deal’ with him to call you back to Mystic Falls and then you can kill him.”

“You would help us kill our father?” Klaus sounded shocked that someone would help him without getting anything in return.

“First of; He has no right to call himself a father with the way he has treated you and your siblings.” Elena glared at the wall. “Second; Of course, we’ll help you. What are friends for?”

Klaus wrapped his arms around Elena and buried his face in her neck, “Thank you.”

After a few minutes Klaus pulled back and gave a half smirk half smile as he looked at Elena, “Chaos is what I like, and you’ve got a lot of it inside that pretty little head of yours.” *1

Elena just smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek, for some reason she felt drawn to him, not like she was with Elijah but similar at the same time, it was really confusing.

“I’ll go with you to the packs.” Mason spoke up after a while. “I can you convince them that becoming hybrids is the right choice, but you’ll need to turn me first.”

“And I’ll stay here and pretend that I'm mad at you for leaving me behind.” Rebekah offered with a small smile at her brother.

Klaus smiled at Rebekah and then at Elena, after which he turned to Mason. “You want to do this now?”

“No time like the present.” Mason shrugged.

Klaus bit into his wrist and offered it to Mason who drank several mouthfuls before pulling back and dried his mouth on the arm of his shirt.

“See you in a few.” Tyler smiled at his uncle who smiled back before Klaus swiftly and as painlessly as possible broke his neck.

Tyler quickly walked over and lifted his uncle on to the couch so that he would be comfortable when he woke up.

“Hey Nik, do you have the things needed to fill some blood bags?” Elena asked slowly. “I thought we could just do that now while we waited for the sleeping wolf to wake up.”

“I have the things and I have a nurse on speed dial.” Klaus confirmed.

And while Klaus went to call the nurse Elena and Jeremy set up so that Elena could donate some blood when Mason had woken up.

XOXOXOX

Elena woke up on the first day of the new school year with a smile. The plan had been for Damon to call Kathrine and say that they wanted to help her with the whole Mikael thing because Klaus had turned Tyler into a hybrid ‘against his will’ and compelled Stefan to turn his emotions off.

Thanks to Damon’s amazing ability to lie convincingly and Kathrine’s creepy obsession with Stefan, she had bought it, hook, line and sinker. So now, Kathrine was doing her best to wake Mikael up while the Mystic Falls pack planned for every single thing that could happen.

Elena jumped out of bed, quickly took a shower and put on her chosen outfit for the day; black skinny jeans with ripped knees, black top, black boots and a blue leather jacket. The blue leather jacket had been a gift from Harper, Anna and Pearl, that they had bought in France when they had been there.

As Elena walked out of her room, she met Alaric on the stairs and smiled. “Good morning, Ric.”

“Morning, Elena.” Alaric smiled back. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm feeling pretty good.” Elena said and then she smirked. “And form the hickey on your neck, so do you.”

“Elena!” Alaric called out in embarrassment.

The only thing he got in response was laughter as Elena made her way to the kitchen. She made herself and Jeremy a sandwich each and walked up to his room to wake her little brother.

“Waky waky, little brother.” Elena pulled the curtains apart, making Jeremy groan and try and hide his face under his comforter.

“Nooo, don wanna.” Jeremy whined and tried to burrow further into his bed.

“I brought breakfast.” Elena coaxed as she waved the plate close the were his head was.

“What’s on it?” Came Jeremy’s muffled voice.

“Your favorite.” Elena hummed and sat down on his bed as Jeremy sat up and accepted his plate with an adorable pout.

An hour and fifteen minutes later she was standing arm in arm with Caroline and Bonnie in front of the school.

“Here we are.” Caroline said. “Senior year.”

“Anyone else think it should feel slightly more empowering?” Bonnie asked, sounding disappointed.

“Okay, so prank night was a bust.” Caroline looked down, but then she straightened up again. “But we are accepting it and moving on.”

“You're right.” Bonnie nodded with determination. “This year is going to be awesome!”

“Last time you predicted an awesome year we found out about vampires, witches and werewolves.” Elena pointed out with a chuckle.

“Shut up!” Bonnie and Caroline chorused with laughter.

“Didn’t Rebekah say she might start school today to?” Caroline wondered with an exited smile.

“I think so, yeah.” Elena nodded.

“Then when she has arrived, we shall rule this school like the amazing queens we are.” Caroline declared and the three of them walked in to the school while laughing, ignoring the appreciative looks they were getting from most of the boys and even some of the girls.

A few minutes later they split up so they could go to their lockers and Elena was almost done putting her books in when a guy from the football team walked, almost swaged, up to her.

“Hey Elena.” Jake leaned against the locker as he looked her up and down.

“Hello Jake.” Elena said back as she closed her locker and turned to walk towards her first class.

Jake started to walk with her even though she was quite sure his first class was in the other direction. “So, you wanna get dinner at the grill sometime?”

Before Elena could turn him down the bell rang and Jake started to hurry off calling over his shoulder that he would talk to her later. Confused Elena walked into her math class and sat down at an empty desk, deciding to push Jake out of her mind and focus on her class.

The rest of the time until lunch was equally confusing for Elena. Several jocks came up to her and talked to her, some of them even asked her out and Elena had no idea what was going on. As she walked towards the cafeteria to meet Caroline and Bonnie for lunch another jock came up to her.

“Hello beautiful.” The jock, if Elena remembered correctly his name was David, put his arm around her shoulders.

“Kindly take your arm off me.” Elena said darkly.

“Oh, don’t be like that, baby.” David pulled her closer to his side.

“I'm serious,” Elena tried to shrug him off but he just tightened his hold on her.

“You can stop playing hard to get and just agree to go out with me.” David said with an arrogant smirk.

“Get your hands of my sister.” Jeremy growled darkly from where he had stepped into David's path.

“What are you going to do?” David laughed. “You’re just a junior.”

“True but this junior was taught to fight by Mr. Saltzman and Stefan’s older brother Damon.” Jeremy glared. “If your tiny little ape brain doesn't understand what that means I’ll spell it out for you; I can and will fuck you up if you do not let go of my sister.”

“Fine.” David let her go and she made her way towards Jeremy, but before she got far David slapped and grabbed her ass.

Then before David could do more than laugh, he stumbled back with a broken nose and Jeremy was on him, raining blows faster than David could defend against. The fight continued for a while until some teachers came and dragged Jeremy of David.

“You ever touch my sister again, I’ll beat you unconscious!” Jeremy screamed at David.

“Both of you, principal’s office, now!” Mr. Brown told them sternly.

Elena walked up to Jeremy and linked her arm with his, small tremors going through her body. The ass slap/grab had somehow made her have a flashback to Mr. Tanner and she needed Jeremy close to calm down.

“Not you Miss. Gilbert.” Mr. Brown said. “You can go to the cafeteria for lunch.”

Elena just shook her head and pressed closer to Jeremy, feeling her body start to tremble. Jeremy just glared at Mr. Brown and pulled Elena closer as they walked to the principal’s office.

Mr. Brown led David, Jeremy and Elena into the office and proceeded to tell Principal Grey about the fight. Elena curled tighter into Jeremy’s side and tried her best to banish the flash backs from her mind.

“So, Mr. Ford, can you tell me what happened?” Principal Grey looked at the jock.

“I was just talking to Elena when Gilbert went postal and attacked me.” David said as he held an ice pack to his broken nose, making Jeremy scoff in disbelief.

“You don’t agree with Mr. Ford’s recount of the event, Mr. Gilbert?” Principal Grey turned to Jeremy.

“No.” Jeremy shook his head.

“So, what happened according to you?” Principal grey interlocked his fingers as he looked at Jeremy.

“I was walking down the hall when I saw Ford refusing to take his arm from around Elena’s shoulder, even though she tried to get away.” Jeremy glared at the jock. “I walked up to him and told him to let go but at first he refused until I threatened to punch him if he didn’t.”

“And then what?” Principal Grey coaxed.

“He let her go but when she was walking towards me, David slapped and grabbed her ass.” Jeremy growled. “I saw the fear and panic on Elena’s face and I just reacted.”

Principal Grey got an understanding look in his eyes and turned to Elena with kind eyes. “Are you okay Miss. Gilbert?”

Elena looked up and nodded slightly with a shrug, feeling off kilter and anxious.

“Mr. Gilbert I will let you off with just a warning this time because I know why you reacted the way you did.” Principal Grey said and silenced Mr. Brown’s protests with a look.

“Mr. Ford, you will have detention after school for the rest of the week for touching another student without their permission.” Principal Grey decided, then he let the students go so he could explain to Mr. Brown why he made the decisions he did.

“Are you sure you're okay?” Jeremy asked after they had left the principal’s office.

“No, but I will be.” Elena said quietly. “You can go to class.”

“Elena!” Caroline walked up to them and quickly pulled Elena into a hug. “Here, help me put these up, that might get your mind on other things.”

Elena accepted a punch of papers and chuckled slightly. “I forgot about the bonfire.”

“You have to go.” Caroline gazed pleadingly at Elena. “It’s our first spirit squad event and it sets the bar for the whole year.”

“Of course I’ll be there.” Elena assured with a smile.

“Thank you.” Caroline relaxed with a smile.

“Hey guys.” Tyler walked up to them and kissed Jeremy, not caring about who saw. “Happy first day!”

“Tyler, are you wearing your breakfast?” Elena laughed as she saw the blood on his shirt.

Tyler looked down, then he looked back up with a sheepish smile, “Oops.”

“Did you eat one of your class mates?” Jeremy chuckled.

“Nah, not this time at least.” Tyler smirked. “It’s from a blood bag.”

“So Rebekah managed to hook you up then?” Caroline smiled.

“Yeah and it’s a relief that I don’t have to worry about that.” Tyler shrugged and pulled Jeremy closer to him by the hips.

“We are just going to go.” Elena laughed and pulled Caroline with her out as she walked away.

They giggle as they leave but the giggles quickly stopped as they ran into Stef outside of the bathroom.

“Hello Elena.” Stef smirked.

“What are you doing here?” Elena glared; she wanted her best friend back, not the thing wearing his face.

“What do you mean?” Stef gave a mock look of confusion. “I'm going back to school. Go Timberwolves!”

“What? Why?” Caroline asked.

“Klaus has run with his tail between his legs but I know that he’ll be back for his little doppelgänger, so as long as I stay close to said doppelgänger, I’ll have my shot at killing him.” Stef chuckled darkly. “And from what I've heard, I'm not the only one who wants Klaus dead anymore.”

“I'm going to be late for class.” Elena huffed and tried to leave but Stef grabbed her by the arm and stopped her.

“Oh, class is this way.” Stef started to pull her along.

“Let go of me, Stef.” Elena demanded, starting to feel the panic grow in her chest again.

“Elena, do you think I want to be here? Want to be a senior when I have Stefan’s memories of being a senior a few hundred times?” Stef asked huffed in annoyance. “No. But I don’t have a choice since I need to stay close to you to get to Klaus.”

“Please just let go off me.” Elena actually begged as her throat started to close up in panic.

“Let go of her.” Alaric said from behind them.

Before either Elena or Alaric could react, Stef had Alaric pushed against the lockers.

“Stef, stop it!” Elena called out, worried.

“You're not gonna want to get in my way.” Stef glared darkly at Alaric. “Okay, Ric? I will see you both in history.”

Stef walked away from them without looking back and Elena did her best to breathe through the anxiety and panic.

Half an hour later Elena and Alaric were standing in the empty history class room.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Alaric asked.

“Because Klaus left, Stef decided that he would stick close to me.” Elena explained softly. “Apparently, Stef is convinced that Klaus will be back for me or something like that.”

“So, he has picked up stalking/bodyguarding?” Alaric looked at her.

“Seems like it.” Elena muttered and walked over to her seat as the bell rang. “We are trying to find a way to banish Stef and get Stefan back, Bonnie has been reading all her family’s grimoire’s and we have even called Bree and asked her to help.”

The students started to trickle in and Elena smiled as Caroline sat down text to her. When a jock sat on Elena’s other side, she didn’t know how to feel about it but gave an annoyed sigh when Stef walked up to the jock.

“You're in my seat.” Stef glared and when the jock moved, he smiled at Elena and sat down. “Hey you.”

Alaric wrote ‘AP AMERICAN HISTORY’ on the blackboard in chalk. “Welcome back, seniors. Let’s turn our brains back on, starting with this country’s original founders… The Native Americans.”

“What about the Vikings?” Rebekah asked as she entered the classroom.

“I'm so happy you are here.” Elena whispered so only the vampires could hear her.

“There’s no evidence that Viking explorers actually settled in the United States.” Alaric said and Elena saw that he did his best not to smile. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Rebekah, I'm new.” Rebekah introduced herself, mostly for the benefit of the rest of the class. “And history’s my favorite subject.”

Rebekah took a seat in front of Elena and received smiles from Elena, Caroline and Tyler.

After class Elena and Caroline linked their arms with Rebekah as they walked through the school.

“You're joining cheerleading, right?” Caroline asked with a smile.

“Sure, if you want me too.” Rebekah smiled a little hesitantly, unused to people wanting to be friends with her without an ulterior motive.

“Yes!” Caroline hugged Rebekah and then she started to drag her and Elena towards the female changing rooms.

After the three girls had changed into their training clothes they split up, Rebekah and Caroline walked off towards the rest of the cheerleaders while Elena walked over to the track.

Elena had decided to wear her new training outfit which Jeremy had help her pick out when they had gone back to school shopping a week ago. Dark red tights with black seams, a red sports bra, a lose grey top with the letters GRL PWR and light grey running shoes.

After stretching she started to run down the track, silently cursing herself for forgetting her headphones at home, running was much more fun with music.

“Look at you being all fit.” Stef ran up alongside her and kept pace with her. “Hey, you going to the bonfire tonight? Sounds like fun, right?”

“Leave me alone, Stef.” Elena growled and turned to run in the opposite direction.

“You think I'm annoying now?” Stef ran backwards do he could look at her as he talked. “Wait till homecoming. Wait, who you bringing, by the way? I don’t want to be weird.”

A guy bumped into Elena on accident and quickly apologized. “I'm sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Elena smiled a little before her smile transformed into a frown when Stef pushed the guy to the ground.

“Watch it, dick!” Stef glared.

“Stef?” Elena smiled sweetly. “Get fucked.”

“Wanna help?” Stef leered at her.

“Ugh.” Elena walked away with a glare.

“Was it something I said?” Stef called after her with a laugh.

XOXOXOX

It was night time and Alaric, Damon, Enzo, Elena, Rebekah and Caroline were meeting in Alaric’s classroom trying to plan how to deal with the whole Stef mess.

“I’ll lure Stef away from the bonfire.” Elena told them. “Then when he’s distracted…”

“I’ll shoot him.” Alaric nodded.

“And we’ll just keep him locked up until Bonnie and Bree can figure out how to destroy Stef and we get Stefan back?” Damon sounded scared for his little brother and Enzo squeezed his hand in silent support.

“We will find a way to get Stefan back!” Elena declared strongly. “I will not rest until we do.”

“Agreed.” Caroline spoke up with determination and Alaric nodded.

They talk about the plan for a bit longer before they all split up to go to the bonfire, Caroline excitedly dragging Rebekah with her so they can eat some marshmallows seeing as Rebekah never had any before.

An hour later Caroline and Damon are teaching Enzo and Rebekah how to eat marshmallows the correct way while Elena watched with a smile, not noticing Stef walk up behind her.

“Having fun?” Stef spoke up behind her making Elena jump around.

“I was.” Elena sneered, determined not to let Stef scare her.

“Am I ruining your night?” Stef smirked.

“You are frankly pathetic and I detest your very presence.” Elena huffed and turned to walk away.

Before she could react, Stef had a hand around her throat and her back against a tree outside of the bonfire light while he glared at her with his vampire visage on full display.

“Don’t think I won’t kill you.” Stef growled. “The only reason I'm not doing it is because I need you alive to get Klaus back to town.”

Surprisingly enough, instead of getting scared, Elena got mad. She was so fucking tired of people manhandling her, thinking they could use her body and her for their needs and wants without even thinking about what she wanted.

So, with anger burning in her eyes Elena brought her foot up, kicking Stef so hard between the legs that she wouldn’t be surprised if his ball ended up in his stomach. As Stef let her go and actually fell to his knees and puked because of the pain, Elena felt a little sorry but only because it was Stefan’s body.

“I am so done with being the fucking victim!” Elena snarled as she glared at Stef.

She turned to walk away but before she could get far, Stef was behind her and sinking his teeth into her neck with a growl. Elena struggled as best she could but she felt herself grow weaker until the world went black.

_Elena opened her eyes and saw that she was in the place where she had first talked to Death. “Did I die?”_

_“No, but it was a very close thing.” Death spoke up from beside her._

_“Hi dad.” Elena hugged him and felt him hug back hesitantly._

_“How are you, daughter?” Death asked gently as they pulled back._

_“I… I…” Elena felt her throat clog up. “I miss Stefan and it hurts to see a thing walking around with his face.”_

_“Shh, daughter, shh.” Death pulled her close as she started to cry. “Everything will work out.”_

_“So there is a way to save Stefan?” Elena asked hopefully._

_“Yes, there is.” Death smiled at her. “But it will take time and effort.”_

_“I’ll do anything.” Elena declared quickly._

_“You’ll have to destroy Esther Mikaelson’s soul.” Death said seriously._

_“What?” Elena looked up at him. “How will I do that?”_

_“I will tell you everything when it gets closer to be able to be done.” Death stroked her cheek gently. “She’s the one who created ‘Stef’.”_

_“Why would she do that?” Elena asked. “I mean, I know she was a complete bitch but… why?”_

_“Because you prevented her from getting her claws into Finn.” Death explained softly. “From the moment you first started visiting Finn, he has been protected against Esther. through you.”_

_“But what about Kol?” Elena asked, then she frowned. “How come I can remember everything when I'm here with you, but when I'm ‘awake’ or whatever, I forget the connection between Finn and his siblings? How can I know who Kol is right now but as soon as I leave, I’ll forget?”_

_“To answer your first question; Kol is protected because he is one of my favorites.” Death smiled, looking like a delighted, if slightly psychotic, child. “He has flare and mischief and it is always fun to watch when he goes on one of his little sprees.”_

_“If you want to show him appreciation, make him a baseball bat that won’t break, no matter how hard he hits people with it.” Elena chuckled and out right laughed as she saw Death get a twinkle in his eyes._

_“Anyway, back to your second question.” Death looked back at her. “As I have explained, some things need to happen and that’s why you forget things and people.”_

_“Oh right.” Elena rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. “I had forgotten about that.”_

_“It is time for you to go back, daughter.” Death smiled at her. “I will contact you again when Esther is awake and then you can get Stefan back.”_

_“Thank you, dad.” Elena quickly hugged him again. “I'm so happy that you exist and that you are my dad.”_

_The last thing Elena heard Death say before she woke up was ‘I love you, little one, and remember, a wiling sacrifice is a powerful thing.’_

Elena sat up with a groan and she could taste traces of blood on her tongue. She remembered that she had seen her dad, Death, and they had talked about a way to save Stefan, but she couldn’t remember what. And something about a wiling sacrifice being a powerful thing?

“What happened?” Elena asked out loud.

“Stef almost drained you.” Rebekah spoke up quietly.

Elena looked up at her and saw the worry in her eyes. “But I'm fine.”

“Only because I gave you my blood after I broke Stef’s neck.” Rebekah murmured and Elena could see that she looked shaken.

“Come here.” Elena held her arms open for Rebekah and Rebekah didn’t waste any time before she was cuddled up with Elena.

“I thought I was too late.” Rebekah sobbed softly.

“You weren't.” Elena reassured while stroking her hair.

Rebekah and Elena just cuddled on the bed for a while until Rebekah pulled back slightly, “You need to call Nik.”

“What?” Elena looked confused. “Why?”

“Because he somehow _knew_ something was wrong with you.” Rebekah told her seriously. “It was his call that alerted me to you being in danger and if he hadn’t called you wouldn’t have been alive for me to heal you with my blood.”

“Where's my phone?” Elena looked around. “I’ll call him right now.”

Rebekah vamp-sped away only to return a few seconds later with Elena’s phone.

“Thank you.” Elena smiled and quickly dialed Nik’s number.

**A/N: Another chapter, yay!**

**I hope you all liked it <3**

***1 – A direct quote from one of my followers Banana. Thanks for letting me use the quote in this story <3**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	27. Ordinary People

**A/N: So first of, you might have noticed that I skipped ‘Ghost World’ and that’s because I have kept so many character alive that were important to the plot of ‘Ghost world’.**

**Anyway, on with the chapter!**

The morning dawned bright and beautiful four days after Elena’s almost death at Stef’s hand and Elena didn’t really want to get up. After her talk with Klaus four days ago, her mind had been a chaotic mess.

Klaus had somehow known she was in danger, he explained it as a pain in his chest that he just knew meant that Elena was in danger, and he had called Rebekah who had managed to save her in time.

At the same time, she was so very confused, maybe she was sick or something. First it began with the tingles and warmth in her chest when she was around Elijah or even just thought of him and that still kept happening, but now she started to feel the same symptoms around Klaus. Was she dying? Cancer? Insane? Maybe she should go to a doctor or something.

“Elena, you awake?” Jenna poked her head through the door.

“No, just leave me here to die in peace.” Elena grumbled from the bed.

“No can do, doodle bug.” Jenna laughed. “You told me to wake you up early because apparently Mason told you about some cave or something that you wanted to look for.”

“Oh, right.” Elena grumbled. “I had forgotten about that.”

“Well, Alaric didn’t and he’s been ready to go for over an hour.” Jenna chuckled. “He’s very adorable when he’s excited about history.”

“You being so gone on that guy, that’s what's adorable.” Elena giggled as she got up and walked into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

After her shower Elena decided to put on an outfit that was inspired by Indiana Jones because she was going on an adventure in some before unexplored caves; brown skinny jeans, white long-sleeved shirt, brown ankle boots, dark leather jacket and a leather satchel that Caroline had given her.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, the only thing missing was a hat, otherwise she could almost pass as a cosplayer doing a female version of Indiana Jones. she finished off the outfit by putting on a leather armband that Nik had sent her from wherever he and Mason where.

Elena made her way to the kitchen, only to stop and smirk in the doorway. Tyler had Jeremy pressed up against the counter with his tongue showed down Jeremy’s throat, while Jeremy moaned lowly.

“I didn’t know I ordered breakfast entertainment today, but I'm not complaining.” Elena spoked up deviously.

“Lena!” Jeremy gasped and fumbled a little while Tyler just smiled.

“Good morning, Alpha.” Tyler walked over and nuzzled her throat.

“Good morning, pup.” Elena stroked a hand through Tyler’s hair before she walked over to the cupboard to grab a powerbar, then she turned and smirked at Jeremy, “Little brother.”

“I thought you were going somewhere with Alaric.” Jeremy asked with smile and a huff.

“I'm on my way right now.” Elena bounced her way towards the door. “Oh, and if you two are gonna fuck in the kitchen, remember to clean up after yourself.”

“Fuck you, Lena!” Jeremy mock glared at her.

“Nah, you may be very handsome, Jeremy, but I'm not into incest.” Elena called back before she closed the door.

“Finally!” Alaric drawled as he saw Elena walk out of the house. “What’s with the Indiana Jones get-up?”

“We’re going to explore an unexplored cave; I thought the outfit was fitting.” Elena jumped into the passenger seat of Alaric’s car. “Move it, slow poke, we’re waiting on you now.”

“Why do I put up with you?” Alaric asked as he started the car.

“Because your technically my step-dad.” Elena smirked. “And if you marry Aunt Jenna, you'll be my step-uncle too.”

“Can’t I just disown you or something?” Alaric groaned, turning onto a forest path.

“What's the matter, step-dad?” Elena asked slowly with a smirk.

The car came to a sudden stop as Alaric stared out of the front window of the car with a horrified look on his face. He turned to Elena slowly and pleaded with her, “Never ever call me that again, please!”

Elena frowned and wondered what he was freaking out about and slowly replayed their entire conversation in her mind until she finally got it. Her confused frown turned into a frown of disgust very quickly.

“Eww.” Elena shuddered.

“Agreed.” Alaric nodded.

“Let’s forget this conversation ever happened and swear to never talk about it again.” Elena declared.

“Agreed.” Alaric nodded again.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence and neither of them broke the silence until they were walking through a tunnel in the cellar where Mason and Tyler used to turn during the full moon.

“So, the Lockwoods really have no idea that these tunnels are underneath their property?” Alaric asked.

“Yeah, Mason only found it because he saw something when he was packing his stuff up after a full moon.” Elena moved her flash light around.

“Careful where you shine that thing.” Alaric cautioned. “Bats hate the light.”

“There's bats here?” Elena looked around, trying to catch a glimpse.

_“Elena.”_

Elena stopped and tilted her head; it was almost liked she heard a voice on the wind. As she spun around, she saw Damon standing behind her.

“Boo!” Damon smirked. He lost his smirk as Elena reacted like he had taught her; with punching him in the face with a closed fist.

“Damon!” Elena gasped in shock when she saw who she had punched.

“Nice right-hook.” Damon complimented as he rubbed his cheek.

“Thanks.” Elena smiled and followed Alaric into an open room like cave.

“Eh… guys?” Damon called out.

Alaric and Elena turned around and saw that he couldn’t get passed the ‘doorway’.

“How come you can’t get in?” Alaric asked, looking fascinated.

“I don’t know but it seems like even the _ancient_ Lockwoods were anti-vampire.” Damon looked past their shoulders.

“What do you mean, ancient?” Alaric asked with bright eyes.

“See for yourself.” Damon nodded for them to walk further into the cave.

“What is all this?” Elena whispered as she looked at the drawings on the walls.

She of course already knew what it was and how it got there, but she couldn’t say that to Damon and Alaric. Elena wondered how she could tell Rebekah about Nik killing their mother without making Rebekah hurting or hating Nik.

Elena understood why Nik did what he did and she had a suspicion that Nik hadn’t been in his right mind when it happened. Esther had just forced Nik’s wolf half down and locked it up, how was Nik supposed to react rationally when part of him was missing by her hand?

“Well, as far as I can tell, it’s a story.” Alaric’s voice brought her back to the present. “In simple, archaeological terms, it’s a really, really old story.” He pointed at a drawing on the wall. “That right there, is a moon cycle.” Then he pointed at another drawing. “A man, a wolf.”

“A werewolf.” Elena concluded.

“Yeah, it’s the ‘Lockwood Diaries: Pictionary-Style’.” Damon spoke up from the entrance.

“Wait a minute, are these proof that there were werewolves here before the Lockwoods?” Elena looked between Alaric and Damon. “Because the Lockwoods didn’t get here until the 1860s.”

“It looks that way.” Alaric had an exited gleam in his eyes.

“You are such a nerdy guy when it comes to history.” Elena giggled.

“It gets better.” Damon smirked.

“What?” Alaric looked wide eyed at Damon.

“There are runes over there.” Damon gestured at what he had seen.

Alaric hurried over with Elena following him, and Alaric breathed out in awe. “These are Viking Runes.”

“Niklaus… Elijah… Rebekah…” Elena read of the wall.

“You read Runes?” Alaric looked at her.

“A little, yeah.” Elena nodded. “I started after I found out what runes between my breast means.”

“You have runes between your breasts?” Alaric asked, shocked.

“Yes. Seriously Alaric, keep up.” Elena huffed and turned back to the wall. “This proves that the Original family is hella old, tho.”

“How do we know this isn’t one of Klaus’s fakes?” Alaric asked slowly.

“Because of that.” Elene pointed at another runic sequence.

“What’s that name?” Damon asked as he looked at where Elena was pointing.

“Mikael.” Elena said gravely.

XOXOXOX

Alaric was looking through the photos on his desk that he had taken of the drawings on the wall in the cave while Damon and Elena sparred in the living room.

“These images tell a story…” Alaric muttered. “To learn the story, you have to decipher these images.”

Damon disarmed Elena but before he could taunt her, she grabbed him by the balls and took the stake back, placing it over his heart. “You're dead.”

“That was just cruel.” Damon hissed as Elena let go of his family jewels.

“Wasn’t it you who told me that anything and everything could be used as a weapon?” Elena smirked and walked over to Alaric.

“Yeah, but I didn’t mean for you to use it against me.” Damon muttered petulantly.

“Sucks to be you.” Elena teasingly mocked him.

“Bang, you're dead!” Damon ran up behind Elena suddenly and started to mockingly nibble on her neck.

“If you were hungry you could just have asked.” Elena huffed and bared her neck.

“Thank you, Elena, but I’ll just have a blood bag.” Damon kissed her on the cheek.

“If you're sure.” Elena looked at him and when he nodded, she smiled slightly. “About the images, why don’t we just ask someone who was there?”

“Who?” Alaric asked slowly, looking confused.

“Rebekah and Nik.” Elena gave him a look and Alaric looked down in embarrassment.

“Really, Ric?” Damon laughed.

“I’ll go talk to Rebekah and I’ll call Nik on the way.” Elena chuckled and walked out.

As Elena walked towards the school, she pulled put her phone and called Nik, wanting to talk to him before she talked to Rebekah.

_“Hello, love.”_ Nik answered with a smile in his voice.

“Hey, Nik.” Elena found herself smiling.

_“What's wrong?”_ Nik asked, obviously having heard something in her voice.

“Maybe I just wanted to call and ask how the hybrid army is coming along?” Elena huffed, trying to sound believable.

_“I wasn’t born yesterday, kitten.”_ Nik told her.

“You know how Mason called me a few days ago?” Elena asked with a sigh and continued as she heard Nik make a noise of agreement. “We were just talking and I admitted that I was bored and wanted to go on an adventure and he told me about a cave he had found in the tunnels underneath the Lockwood property.”

_“So, you got your adventure.”_ Nik chuckled.

“Yes, and it was really fun, until…” Elena trailed off.

_“Until?”_ Nik coaxed softly.

“We found a cave with images drawn on the walls.” Elena murmured, knowing that he could hear her anyway. “Your name was carved into the cave wall.”

_“Oh, you found that cave.”_ Nik chuckled and that’s when Elena knew he didn’t know about the story drawn on the walls.

“The drawings on the walls told the story of you and your family and… how you killed your mother, Nik.” Elena said softly and she heard his drag in a deep breath.

_“What?”_ Nik growled deeply.

“I don’t think Alaric or Damon knows but I could read the story.” Elena told him quickly.

_“How come you could read it?”_ Nik asked, sounding intrigued.

“I… I…” Elena stuttered, knowing she would have to lie. “I don’t know.”

_“What do you mean, you don’t know?”_ Nik wondered.

“Exactly that, I don’t know how I could read it.” Elena murmured, making sure to sound confused. “I just looked at the pictures and knew what they meant.”

_“Yes, I killed my mother.”_ Nik gave a weary sigh. _“Do you hate me or find me a monster now?”_

Elena could hear that he did his best to sound uncaring but underneath it all she could hear the fear and loneliness, like he expected her to hate him and leave him.

“No.” Elena answered simply.

_“What?”_ Nik asked sounding shocked and very lost. _“Why not?”_

“Because I knew it was right after she bound your werewolf half.” Elena explained. “And I don’t think you were in your right mind. I think you just reacted to the betrayal, the loss, the pain and the emptiness inside you.”

_“How come you can understand something so easily when people I've known for centuries can’t even understand a fifth of it?”_ Nik asked softly.

“Elijah did call me insightful once.” Elena chuckled.

_“He was always good at seeing people and their gifts.”_ Nik murmured.

“You miss him.” Elena stated, like it was obvious.

_“Did you know that I shut off my emotions after I killed my mother?”_ Nik asked in a way that showed he didn’t want an answer. _“I just couldn’t handle the guilt when I came back to myself.”_

“Oh Nik.” Elena sighed sadly.

_“And I haven't switched them on since then. Sure, I still cared about my family but I was quick to dagger them at any little, so called, disappointment.”_ Nik kept going like Elena hadn’t said anything. _“Until I talked to you for the first time and you willingly offered yourself up for a sacrifice to help me be whole again, that’s when my humanity started to trickle back and now it’s on full force. Can’t really say if I like it or not.”_

“Nik, I will do my best to explain to Rebekah about why you killed your mother, okay?” Elena offered gently. “I assume she doesn’t know?”

_“I told my siblings that father did it as revenge for her cheating on him with my father.”_ Nik admitted. _“Though, I think Elijah might have known.”_

“I’ll talk to Rebekah.” Elena assured. “But why don’t you wake Elijah up when you get back? We could use his help against your father.”

_“I guess you're right.”_ Nik mumbled. _“I’ll think about it.”_

“I miss you.” Elena murmured before quickly hanging up the phone.

Elena silently cursed herself, why did she say that? Shit, fuck, hell, bugger…

“Elena!” Rebekah called out to her as she came upon the cheerleader practice, knocking Elena out of her cursing streak.

“Hey, Rebekah.” Elena smiled. “Having fun?”

“I absolutely love doing this.” Rebekah beamed. “High school is fun.”

“And that’s how I know you’ve done it less than a month.” Elena laughed.

“What?” Rebekah looked at her in confusion.

“Give it a few weeks and you'll hate high school as much as the rest of us.” Elena smirked.

“If you're gonna be a depressed cupcake, Elena, you can leave.” Caroline mock glared at her as she walked up. “Plus, we need Rebekah so we can start practicing group numbers.”

“Caroline is right, I should get back.” Rebekah smiled brightly, happy to have real friends. “Homecoming’s right around the corner…”

“You exited for that then?” Elena smiled, finding Rebekah’s excitement for high school and homecoming sort of adorable.

“Yes!” Rebekah almost squealed, but then she frowned. “I just hope someone will ask me.”

“Rebekah you're absolutely gorgeous and a bit of a bitch.” Elena told her. “There's definitely several guys that will ask you, and probably some girls.”

“Guys find bitchiness hot?” Rebekah asked hesitantly.

“Definitely.” Caroline nodded. “That’s why half the guys in the school wants to get with Elena.”

“They do?” Rebekah looked between a smirking Caroline and an annoyed looking Elena.

“Oh, yeah.” Caroline chuckled. “You see, Elena is the Queen Bitch of this school, but at the same time she's considered nice. Add the fact that she hasn’t agreed to date anyone since she broke up with Matt and you get the guys wanting to break her icy demeanor and be the one to make her melt.”

“It’s ridiculous.” Elena deadpanned.

“It’s hilarious, that’s what it is.” Caroline started to laugh and Rebekah joined her.

“I wanted to talk to you about something we found this morning.” Elena turned to Rebekah with a smile. “But it can wait.”

“I’ll call you later, okay?” Rebekah asked as Caroline started to drag her away.

“Sounds good.” Elena laughed and watched as Caroline started to instruct the others in the new routine.

Elena walked home, thinking about the future and the changes she was making to this world. Having Tyler turned into a hybrid willingly, did that mean he wouldn’t betray Nik later? And if Nik woke Elijah up when he returned, would that mean that Stef wouldn’t be able to steal Nik’s family?

She sighed, she missed Nik and Elijah so very much, it was like a physical pain in her chest and she didn’t know why. Maybe she could talk to Aunt Jenna about it? She was smart and Elena knew she would be honest with her if Elena was dying or really sick.

“Elena!” Jenna called out happily as Elena walked through the door of the Gilbert home.

‘Think about the devil…’ Elena thought with a smile as she hugged Jenna. “Hi, Aunt Jenna.”

“It feels like it has been ages since we talked.” Jenna said sadly.

“We talked this morning, Aunty.” Elena chuckled and sat down at the breakfast bar.

“I know that.” Jenna mock glared at her. “I meant really talked, like we used to.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right.” Elena murmured. “We've both been so busy with our own stuff that we forgot about each other for a little while.”

Jenna bounced over to the fridge and took out some Ben&Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream, then she pulled out two spoons before making her way over to sit beside Elena. “So, what had been going on in your life?”

“Not much, really.” Elena shrugged and scooped up a spoonful of ice cream.

“Oh, come on, doodle bug.” Jenna groaned. “Something must be going on.”

“Well…” Elena hesitated, should she really ask Jenna bout her symptoms?

“Go on.” Jenna coaxed.

“I think I'm dying or at least sick.” Elena admitted.

“Why do you think that?” Jenna asked gently.

“I have these symptoms that freak me out a little, but they don’t happen all the time.” Elena put the spoon in her mouth.

“What are the symptoms and when do they happen?” Jenna looked concerned.

“Well, there is this warmth that fills my chest, tingles in my stomach and sometimes I get a hard time breathing.” Elena said softly. “But it only happens around Elijah and Nik, or sometimes when I think about them.”

Jenna had gone from looking concerned to beaming and looking like she wanted to squeal.

“What?” Elena asked as she turned to her Aunt.

“You really don’t know?” Jenna asked a little shocked.

“No… I'm dying, aren't I?” Elena looked down sadly.

“No, doodle bug, you're not dying.” Jenna smiled at her. “You're in love.”

“What?!” Elena asked incredulously. “No, I'm not.”

“Oh, doodle bug, what happened to you that forced you into this mind set of feeling unlovable and not understanding your own feelings?” Jenna looked at her with sad eyes.

“But, Aunt Jenna, I can’t be in love.” Elena ignored Jenna’s question. “Especially not with two people!”

“And why not?” Jenna wanted to know.

“Because I refuse to be like Kathrine!” Elena declared loudly. “I won’t play two brothers against each other.”

“Then don’t.” Jenna said simply.

“I'm going to have to distance myself from them.” Elena muttered to herself.

“No, you don’t.” Jenna told her firmly. “You have four options here, Elena.”

“I do?” Elena looked up hopefully.

“Yes, you do.” Jenna nodded. “Option one; You distance yourself from them, breaking your own heart and possibly theirs as well.”

“I don’t want that.” Elena denied.

“Option two; You chose to pursue a relationship with Elijah.” Jenna ate some more ice cream. “And I can tell you that he already likes you a whole lot.”

“He does?” Elena looked shocked. She would have noticed, right?

“Oh, he really does.” Jenna smirked at her oblivious niece. “Option three; You choose to pursue a relationship with Klaus, who, by the way he looks at you, likes you or at least desires you.”

Elena blushed, that couldn’t be true. Nik and Elijah were just being nice to her, there was nothing else to it. “And option four?”

“Option four: You talk with them like the adults you are and you form a healthy polyamorous relationship that includes all three of you.”

“I can’t do that.” Elena spluttered with a bright blush.

“Of course, you can.” Jenna chuckled brightly. “As long as everyone involved are okay with it, there is no problem.”

Elena sat there, just staring at the wall as she let the thoughts run around in her head. Could she really do that? Would Elijah and Nik agree? What if they didn’t? Would she lose their friendship? Would they hate her?

“Just think about it, doodle bug.” Jenna smiled at her. “You don’t have to decide today, tomorrow or even this year.”

“I can’t think about it right now.” Elena declared after a few minutes. “My head is starting to hurt.”

“Love tends to do that.” Jenna laughed.

“So, wanna do each other’s makeup and play dress up?” Elena asked hopefully.

“I would love to!” Jenna bounced in place. “You bring the ice cream, I’ll bring the wine!”

“You're going to let me drink?” Elena smirked softly. “Not scared that I’ll get drunk?”

“Elena, I've seen you drink.” Jenna gave her a deadpanned look. “You could out drink Legolas from Lord of the Rings.”

“True.” Elena laughed and walked up the stairs to her room with the ice cream, smiling as she heard Jenna opening the cork of a wine bottle and grabbing some glasses before she joined Elena.

XOXOXOX

A few hours later Elena walked into the boarding house and smiled as she heard the music as Rebekah walked towards her with two glasses of champagne.

“You made it!” Rebekah hugged her before giving her one of the glasses.

“Yeah, you called and said we had stuff to do.” Elena smiled as she sipped her champagne and followed Rebekah into the sitting room.

“All right girls, have at it!” Rebekah called out.

Six girls in various beautiful homecoming dresses walked into the room, all of them with a blank look in their eyes.

“Okay, now twirl.” Rebekah ordered and the girls did as she said.

“You compelled your own private runaway show?” Elena laughed brightly.

“Well, we both need homecoming dresses.” Rebekah smirked. “So, what do you think? Pick one.”

“For you…” Elena looked at all the dresses with a critical eye. “The red one.”

“Oh, nice choice.” Rebekah smiled with excitement. “Can I pick yours?”

“Sure.” Elena agreed and Rebekah almost squealed in happiness.

“I think you should wear the black and blue one.” Rebekah nodded towards a floor length black and blue ombre dress with a shoulder strap.

“It’s beautiful.” Elena said with a bright smile.

“So we are in agreement?” Rebekah chirped with a little bounce. “I’ll wear the red on and you’ll wear the black and blue one?”

“Agreed.” Elena nodded.

“This is going to be so much fun!” Rebekah giggled, then she turned towards the six girls. “Go away. Remember nothing.”

“If you want, we could all get ready together?” Elena offered. “You, me, Caroline and Bonnie.”

“What does that mean?” Rebekah asked, a little embarrassed that she didn't know.

“It means that me, Caroline and Bonnie will come here several hours before prom and we will all help each other with hair and makeup, while drinking wine or some other alcohol.”

“That sounds amazing.” Rebekah hummed. “Let’s do that.”

“We’ll have to ask Caroline and Bonnie but I think they would want to come to.” Elena chuckled.

“Come on, let’s snoop through Stefan’s room while you ask about whatever you wanted to ask about.” Rebekah grabbed Elena’s hand and pulled her along to Stefan’s room.

They entered Stefan’s room together as they giggled quietly, feeling a little naughty. Rebekah walked over to the drawers and started to open them.

“How fun isn’t this?” Rebekah giggled as she pulled out a pair of Stefan’s underwear. “Boxer briefs. A lot has changed since the twenties.”

“What, did he go commando in the twenties or something?” Elena asked with a giggle, which was weird, she usually didn’t giggle.

“What is commando?” Rebekah looked up at her.

“It’s when you don’t wear underwear at all.” Elena started to look through another set of drawers.

“People actually do that?” Rebekah asked, wide eyed.

“Yup.” Elena chuckled. “I know for a fact that Jeremy didn’t wear underwear with his Halloween costume one year.”

“Damn, that’s kinda hot.” Rebekah had a far away look in her eyes.

“Are you sexualizing my brother in your head?” Elena asked as she looked up at Rebekah.

“Yes.” Rebekah admitted promptly.

“Don’t let Tyler find out, he might just try and rip your eyes out.” Elena laughed loudly.

“Would be worth it though.” Rebekah smirked. “Your brother is hot!”

“You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if I found a dildo or vibrator in one of these drawers.” Elena smirked, trying to change the subject.

Rebekah was quiet for a few seconds before she burst out laughing so hard she had tears running down her face and had to lean against the wall for support.

“You know, when we get Stefan back, you two should try pegging.” Elena piped up again when Rebekah had managed to calm down, making her fall back into laughter again.

“I can’t breathe.” Rebekah gasped out while she laughed.

“You don’t need to breath.” Elena pointed out with a smirk.

“That’s not the point!” Rebekah said while she kept laughing.

Fifteen minutes later Rebekah had managed to calm down from her laughing fit. “What did you want to talk about, by the way? We seem to have gotten off track.”

“I wanted to ask about your family, if that’s okay?” Elena asked softly.

“Ask away.” Rebekah smiled at her and turned back to keep going through Stefan’s stuff.

“Just promise to tell me if you don’t want to talk about something, okay?” Elena looked at her earnestly.

“I promise.” Rebekah smiled. “Now ask what you want to ask.”

“Well, when Elijah was telling me a little about your family, he said that your father was a wealthy landowner in Europe.” Elena began softly. “How did your family end up in Mystic Falls before it was Mystic Falls?”

“My parents had just started a family, when a plague struck their homeland.” Rebekah told her. “They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate.”

“That can’t have been easy for them, losing a child.” Elena muttered, louder she asked. “So, how did you guys end up here? According to the history books this part of the world hadn’t even been discovered yet.”

“Exactly.” Rebekah smirked. “The key words being ‘according to the history book’”

“Why doesn’t it surprise me that they're wrong?” Elena huffed.

“Anyway, my mother knew the witch Ayanna, who heard from the spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy… blessed by the gifts of speed and strength.” Rebekah continued her story. “That lead my family here, where we lived amongst those people.”

“The werewolves?” Elena asked even if she knew the answer.

“To us, they were just our neighbors.” Rebekah explained softly. “My family lived in peace with them for over twenty years, during which time my parents had more children, including me.”

“It sounds nice.” Elena smiled.

“It was.” Rebekah looked wistful. “Once a month our family retreated into the caves beneath our village. The wolves would howl through the night and by morning we’d return home…”

“Rebekah, are you okay?” Elena placed a hand on her arm.

“One full moon, Klaus and my youngest brother Henrik snuck out to watch the men turn into beasts.” Rebekah looked sadly at Elena. “That was forbidden and Henrik paid the price…”

“Oh, I'm so, so sorry.” Elena pulled Rebekah into a hug.

Rebekah cried silently into Elena’s shoulder for a while before she pulled away with a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Elena smiled kindly at the Original.

“You better get that.” Rebekah chuckled as Elena’s phone started to buzz. “That’ll be Damon checking up on you to make sure I haven't killed you and dumped your body.”

“He's a bit… protective.” Elena grumbled softly.

“You don’t say.” Rebekah smirked.

“Hello?” Elena answered her phone.

_“Hey!”_ Damon called out from the other end.

“Where are you?” Elena asked, hearing loud music in the background.

_“No idea, but I'm pretty sure I'm overdressed.”_ Damon laughed. _“Still standing?”_

“Yeah, but I might be lying down after I hang up, Rebekah looks like a good cuddle buddy.” Elena winked at Rebekah who was lying on Stefan’s bed.

_“I’ll be at the bar.”_ Elena heard Stefan’s voice from Damon’s end of the call.

“Is that Stef?” Elena glared at the wall.

_“Yeah, I kinda went off a bit.”_ Damon murmured. _“Don’t worry, I know what I'm doing.”_

“No you don’t.” Elena deadpanned. “If he kills you or if you somehow end up dead, I’ll bring you back only to kill you again!”

Elena hung up the phone and walked over to lay beside Rebekah on Stefan’s bed. They didn’t speak for a while until Rebekah took a deep breath to continue her story.

“After Henrik’s death, our parents only saw one way of keeping the rest of their children alive.” Rebekah got up from the bed. “I'm thirsty, do you want a drink?”

They slowly made their way to the parlor and Rebekah poured them both some bourbon.

“Want some blood with yours?” Elena offered her wrist.

“You would really let me have your blood? You would trust me that much?” Rebekah looked shocked and a little lost.

“You're my friend, Rebekah.” Elena said like it was obvious.

“Thank you.” Rebekah almost sobbed.

“What's the matter, Bekah?” Elena asked softly, the nickname just slipping out.

“I've never had any true friends that didn’t want something from me.” Rebekah looked down sadly. “And here you are, offering your blood and your friendship without wanting anything in return.”

“Oh sweetie, that’s not how friendship works.” Elena hugged her again. “I don’t care about most people, Bekah, the only ones I care about are our pack and even than I have those I care more about than others. For example, if I had to choose between saving you and saving Alaric, I would choose you.”

“What?” Rebekah gasped, hardly believing what she heard. “Haven't you known Alaric longer?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t matter.” Elena said softly. “It’s a bit hard for me to explain how I reason because I really can’t understand it myself most of the time.”

That made Rebekah give a wet chuckle. “You are amazing.”

“Why thank you.” Elena smiled and offered her wrist again. “Drink?”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Rebekah seemed to have gotten some of her confidence back.

“So, vampirism was a form of protection?” Elena asked ten minutes later when they were sitting on the couch in front of the fire place.

“My parents only wanted to keep us alive and vampirism was the way they found to protect us.” Rebekah sipped her bourbon.

“Why stay? Why didn't you just leave?” Elena wanted to know.

“Pride… My father didn’t want to run anymore.” Rebekah looked into the fire. “He wanted to fight and be superior to the wolves. Where they could bite, we had to bite harder. Where they had speed, we had to be faster. Agility, strength, senses…”

“Ugh, men.” Elena groaned. “So, your mother turned you and your siblings into the first vampires. How did you turn?”

“Our mother called upon the sun for life, and the ancient white oak three, one of nature’s eternal objects, for immortality.” Rebekah told her. “That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood and then he drove his sword through our hearts.”

Elena jumped up from her place on the couch and started to pace, “That pansy, ape looking gorilla, he should be castrated with a sly, rusty, old, spoon! Drawn and gartered! Hanged by his balls in a flag pole until they rotted and fell off!”

“Elena!” Rebekah grabbed Elena by the arms to make her stop pacing and that’s when she noticed the tears on Elena’s cheeks.

“He betrayed and killed his own children.” Elena sobbed.

If there was one thing Elena really couldn’t understand or even stand by, it was parents hurting their own children. The child never asked to be born and if you couldn’t take care of them and love them, then why the fuck did they have them in the first place?!

“Hey, it’s okay.” Rebekah murmured as she pulled Elena with her back to the couch. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No, I want to hear the rest but maybe take it without interruptions?” Elena smiled slightly.

“We had to drink more blood to finish the transformation.” Rebekah continued. “It was euphoric! The feeling of power was indescribable...but the witch Ayana was right about the consequences. The spirits turned on us, and nature fought back...For every strength there would be a weakness... The sun became our enemy. It kept us indoors for weeks... And though my mother found a solution, there were other problems... Neighbors who had opened their homes to us could now keep us out. Flowers at the base of the white oak burned, and prevented compulsion. And the spell decreed that the tree that gave us life could also take it away...so we burned it to the ground. But the darkest consequence was something my parents never anticipated... The hunger. Blood...had made us reborn and it was blood that we craved above all else. We could not control it... And with that, the predatory species was born...”

“My theory is that nature wanted your mother to succeed in creating you.” Elena divulged softly. “Vampires are basically human population control. And, well, if nature didn’t want you to exist you wouldn’t exist, or are you claiming that your mother was more powerful than nature?”

“That actually sounds logical.” Rebekah murmured. “Can you tell me what you mean about population control?”

“Well, as I told Stefan…” Elena proceeded to tell Rebekah about what she had told Stefan and how it worked.

“That makes a lot of sense.” Rebekah nodded, then she frowned.

“So, why did Mikael start hunting Nik?” Elena asked after a while.

“When Nik made his first human kill, it triggered his werewolf gene.” Rebekah said slowly. “Whit that, he became my father’s greatest shame.”

“Elijah told me about how your mother had had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers and that Nik wasn’t Mikael’s son.” Elena hummed.

“She tried to make it right. She put the hybrid curse on Nik to suppress his werewolf side and then she turned her back on him.” Rebekah informed her. “But Mikael’s greatest weakness as a human was his pride. As a vampire, that was magnified. He went on a rampage and killed half the village. Then he came home and killed her.”

“That is not entirely right.” Elena spoke up softly.

“What?” Rebekah asked as she turned to look at Elena.

“If you want me to tell you, I need you to promise to keep calm and try and be rational, okay?” Elena implored seriously.

“I promise.” Rebekah gave her word after a minute.

“Your father may have killed half the villagers but he didn’t kill your mother.” Elena admitted. “Nik killed your mother.”

“WHAT?!” Rebekah screamed.

“You promised, Rebekah.” Elena spoke calmly.

“I'm sorry, but how could he do that?” Rebekah sniffled sadly.

“Imagine having part of yourself looked away against your will.” Elena said gently, trying to get Rebekah to understand. “You feel empty, disoriented, in pain and the only thing you really know is that someone did this to you and you want revenge. Nik told me that he shut off his humanity when he managed to get back to himself after he found out he had killed your mother.”

Rebekah sat quiet for a long while, just staring at the fire and thinking, and Elena left her to it, knowing that she needed to sort out her thoughts and feelings in peace.

“I think I understand why Nik reacted the way he did.” Rebekah spoke up softly almost forty-five minutes later. “Your feelings are amplified when you become a vampire and then she betrayed him in the worst way… yeah, I can understand why he did it.”

“You won’t believe how relived Nik will be to hear that.” Elena smiled at her. “He has worried about it since I confronted him about him not telling you.”

“Anyway, after we buried our mother, we promised each other ‘Always and Forever’.” Rebekah smiled softly.

“That is what family is all about.” Elena hummed in agreement.

They sat in silence for a while until Elena perked up, “Wanna have a sleep over at my house?”

“What’s a sleep over?” Rebekah asked slowly.

“It’s when friends sleep over and then they talk about boys, gossip, paint each other’s nails and eat snacks.” Elena bounced in place. “I think we could both use it right now.”

“Sounds fun, I'm in.” Rebekah smiled. “I’ll just go and pack some clothes.”

An hour later Elena and Rebekah were sitting on Elena’s bed as Elena painted Rebekah’s toe nails a dark red, while she told her about her first trip to Bree’s Bar with Damon. “… and then I thought ‘I bet he would look good in a collar and in his knees too’ and it turns out that I said it out loud.”

“Oh my God.” Rebekah giggled like a maniac.

“And I do, just FYI.” Damon spoke up from the window.

“Ahh!” Elena screamed and threw the nail polish bottle at him, luckily, she had just finished with Rebekah’s toes so the bottle was closed.

“Ouch!” Damon rubbed his fore head were the bottle had hit him.

“Damon!” Elena glared slightly while Rebekah laughed at her scream. “Seriously?!”

“What?” Damon tried to look innocent. “I just wanted to tell you that I just met Mikael.”

“What? How?” Rebekah stopped laughing abruptly.

“Elena’s plan worked like a charm.” Damon smirked. “And I even managed to get Stef on our side.”

“That’s great… I guess.” Elena murmured.

“How about we all meet at the boarding house tomorrow morning?” Damon asked as he walked back towards the window.

“Sounds good to me.” Elena agreed and Rebekah nodded.

“Good, see you then.” Damon stepped one foot out of the window. “Now, I'm going to go home and cuddle with Enzo.”

“Have fun!” Rebekah called after him as he jumped out.

“Do you think they would let us watch their naked fun?” Elena asked Rebekah with a devious smirk, making Rebekah giggle and blush, while still looking intrigued.

**A/N: A/N: Another chapter, yay!**

**I hope you all liked it <3**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	28. The New Homecoming Deal

**A/N: HAPPY HOLLIDAYS!!**

**I hope you all have a wonderful time no matter what you celebrate or where you are in the world <3**

Elena walked into the boarding house wearing an outfit that made her feel kick ass and dark. Mat black high heeled shoes with studs, short leather skirt, a top with the words ‘Normal is Boring’ and a black leather jacket. Jenna had helped her fix her nails so they basically looked like mat black claws earlier this morning and just before she left the house with Rebekah, she had painted her lips black.

She had let Rebekah look through her closet to find an outfit to wear for the day and Rebekah didn't disappoint. Short, tight, long-sleeved dress with studs on the arms and shoulders, mat black high heeled shoes and a brown leather jacket. Her nails had been painted in a mat red and where also looking like claws.

“Well, don’t you two look ready to take on the newest big bad.” Damon smiled at them as they entered the parlor.

“Have you been watching Buffy again?” Elena asked with a smirk.

“It makes me laugh!” Damon defended himself with a chuckled.

“You look good, Elena.” Stef walked in from the kitchen. “No hard feelings about the whole’ me almost killing you’ thing, right?”

Elena smiled pleasantly at him and walked up to him. As she stood in front of him, she suddenly shoved a stake into the right side of his chest, still smiling pleasantly. “No hard feelings about the whole ‘me stabbing in the chest with a stake’ thing, right?”

“You are much different from the other doppelgängers that have been over the years.” A male voice remarked from behind them.

“So they tell me.” Elena turned around to look at him. “Mikael, I presume?”

“And you must be Elena.” Mikael nodded at her.

Elena studied him and did her best not to test her newly painted nails against his face. While Mikael did look like Sebastian Roché, the man that played him on the tv-show, there was something cold and cruel that made a man who should be handsome look almost grotesque in some ways.

“You gonna help us kill Klaus or what?” Damon asked and Elena could have kissed him for taking Mikael’s focus off her.

“Yes, but first we need to get him back here.” Mikael said.

“What's the plan?” Elena looked around at the gathered people.

Enzo was standing by the fire place, not having moved or said anything in the whole time Elena had been there. Damon was standing by the alcohol table, drinking like it was going to make all his problems disappear. Stef was leaning against the back of the couch, still healing the last of the wound from the stake Elena had shoved into his chest.

And, last but not least, Rebekah who had vamp-sped away the second she heard Mikael’s voice to avoid her father and Elena could completely understand why. This was the man that had hunted her and her brothers for a thousand years with the intent to kill them all for something he himself was the cause of.

For fuck sake, he was the one who killed his own children and turned them into vampires and when that didn’t turn out the way he wanted it, he hunted them. Elena had to bite down as not to scream at him and rip him a new one.

“Eh, let’s say that Mikael followed Elena in here.” Stef spoke up. “He tried to grab her, so he could use her as bait. We all know that Klaus needs her…”

“And you what?” Elena scoffed. “You vervained him? A vampire who has hunted vampires since before your grandparents where born? Oh, please.”

“She’s right.” Damon piped up. “To make it realistic, _we_ vervained him.”

“Okay, fine.” Stef groaned. “We vervained him and in the process, we discovered that he had a dagger.”

“Which he planned to use on Rebekah, but instead…” Elena thought out loud.

“We drove it through his heart.” Stef interrupted.

“And what, pray tell, happens when he wants to see Mikael’s body?” Elena sneered at him.

“Good point!” Damon said loudly. “Klaus knows that your life mission is to kill him.”

“Fine, Elena should call to ask him what to do with Mikael’s body.” Stef glared, hating that Damon was right.

“He’ll want proof of Mikael being dead.” Elena pointed out.

“Then I shall be dead.” Mikael said simply.

“What if he wants to see you in person?” Elena hated having to plan Nik’s death, even though she was only pretending to make sure Nik could kill Mikael.

“Well that means our plan is working. Klaus will absolutely want to see my body.” Mikael told her. “You lure him here and I will kill him.”

“With what?” Stef glared at Mikael. “Those daggers won’t work on him.”

“Well, I'm in possession of a stake fashioned from the wood of the ancient white oak tree.” Mikael stated calmly. “The one that left these ashes when it burned.”

“Where is it?” Stef asked eagerly as they watched Mikael dip a dagger in the ashes of the white oak tree.

“Not here.” Mikael didn’t even look up. “The knowing of its location is my insurance policy.”

“Against what?” Stef growled, trying to act tough.

“You leaving this in my heart. You see, a vampire can’t dagger an Original without dying. So… it falls to you.” Mikael handed the dagger to Elena with a nod.

“You actually want me to dagger you?” Elena asked skeptically.

“Klaus will leave nothing to chance, especially when it comes to trust.” Mikael explained.

“Well then, let’s get this over with.” Elena smirked as she shoved the dagger into Mikael’s heart.

“Here, call Klaus.” Damon held out his phone towards her.

_“Portland is fantastic.”_ Nik said from the other end as soon as he answered the phone. _“Once you get over all the whiny music and healthy-looking people, it is literally a breeding ground for werewolves.”_

“I just daggered you father.” Elena said, knowing that she had to keep in character because Stef was in close proximity.

_“What?”_ Nik sounded shocked and if Elena didn’t know better, she would have believed it to be genuine.

“Well, not your actual father.” Elena amended, then to make sure he wouldn’t say anything to give away their rouse to Stef she said, “Stef and Damon vervained him and I daggered him when he came after me to use me as bait. What do you want me to do with the body?”

_“Well, first I want you to explain to me exactly what happened.”_ Nik demanded ‘angerly’.

“Well, it started when he came after me…” Elena proceeded to tell him about the lie they had fabricated.

_“I want to see him.”_ Nik declared. _“I want to see his rotting, desiccated body for myself.”_

“He’s in the boarding house.” Elena hummed. “Come by whenever.”

_“I want to talk to Rebekah.”_ Nik said strongly.

“Hello Nik.” Rebekah said as she took the phone from Elena, having come back to the room the moment Elena had desiccated her father.

_“Rebekah, little sister, what is this I hear about Mikael’s tragic run in with a dagger?”_ Nik asked and the only reason Elena could hear him was because she stood so close to Rebekah.

“It’s true. He’s finally out of our lives for good.” Rebekah ‘reassured’. “I miss you. I'm miserable here.”

_“I’ll be home soon.”_ Nik told her softly.

“Good, I’ll see you then, brother.” Rebekah hung up the phone. “He bought it and is coming back.”

“Good, that means he’ll be dead soon.” Stef smirked and walked out.

“Now, if I remember correctly, I promised you lunch at the grill.” Damon kissed Enzo softly before they left hand in hand.

“Let’s get this over with.” Elena pulled the dagger out of Mikael’s chest and then she turned to Rebekah. “Are you okay?”

“I will be if this works.” Rebekah looked at her father.

“Want me to stay with you?” Elena asked softly.

“No, but thank you.” Rebekah looked happy that Elena had offered. “I want you to take the dagger with you so that he can’t use it on me.”

“I’ll be back in an hour or two so that we can get ready together.” Elena smiled.

“Too bad that Caroline had to get ready at school because she’s on the committee or something and that Bonnie wanted to get ready with her date.” Rebekah looked a little sad but it quickly cleared from her face.

“I'm so happy that a girl actually asked Bonnie to the prom!” Elena squealed as she bounced towards the door. “See you later, Bekah!”

XOXOXOX

Elena was packing her makeup, hair products and accessories when Bonnie ran into her room, crying her eyes out. Elena didn’t even have to think about it before she wrapped her arms tightly around Bonnie, letting her cry inti her shoulder.

“It was a joke.” Bonnie sobbed after crying silently for a few minutes.

“What was?” Elena asked gently.

“The girl that asked me to prom.” Bonnie wept. “She only asked because she was dared to by her friends and they laughed at me when I went to her house to get ready.”

“They did what?!” Elena growled and looked up as she heard a gasp form the doorway.

“Oh, Bonnie.” Jenna walked into the room and wrapped her arms around Bonnie and Elena.

“Me, Caroline and Rebekah will destroy Erin and her friends, don’t you worry.” Elena stroked a hand through Bonnie’s hair. “And if some of them end up dead? Well, it wouldn’t be that big of a loss, now would it?”

“Make it hurt.” Jenna said lowly with a dangerous glint in her eyes, no one messes with her nieces, no one!

“Oh, they won’t know what hit them.” Elena had a demented looking smile on her face. “Bonnie, do you still want to go to prom?”

“No, I don’t want to go anywhere.” Bonnie sniffled.

“How about you stay with me and we’ll cuddle on the couch and watch feel good movies or even some Disney movies?” Jenna offered as she smiled at Bonnie. “We can eat _Ben &Jerry: Red, White and Blueberry_ if you want.”

“I’d like that.” Bonnie pulled away with a wet, fragile, smile.

“Do you want me to stay?” Elena asked softly, ready to give up prom to stay with her friend.

“No, that’s okay.” Bonnie did her best to dry her face. “You go to prom and meet up with Klaus, I’ll stay here with Jenna and eat ice cream and cry.”

“If you're sure.” Elena stepped back a little hesitate to leave her friend when she knew the heartbreak she was feeling.

“I'm sure.” Bonnie hugged Elena again. “Jenna will keep me company.”

“Of course I will.” Jenna nodded.

“Okay then.” Elena nodded and went back to her packing as Jenna and Bonnie walked downstairs to start their movies and ice cream marathon.

As she carried her bag out to Jenna’s car, Elena smiled as she saw Bonnie and Jenna sitting cuddled close together on the couch watching ‘ _The Bucket List_ ’ with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

After saying goodbye to Jenna and Bonnie, who had answered very absentmindedly, Elena drove to the boarding house to meet up with Rebekah so they could get ready together.

When she arrived, Rebekah was bouncing in excitement with a big bright smile on her face. She quickly grabbed Elena’s arm and her bag and dragged her up to Damon’s room where she had set up her own things.

“How about I do your hair and makeup and you do mine?” Rebekah asked hesitantly, like she didn’t know if that was okay.

“Absolutely.” Elena beamed and quickly set up her own makeup and accessories.

Elena helped Rebekah first, curling her hair, making waves fall to the middle of her back while she pulled some of the hair at the top and braided and then twisted it, making it look like Rebekah had a rose at the back of her head. After the hair was done, Elena moved on to Rebekah’s makeup and decided to do a silvery smoky eyed look with the winged eyeliner being on fleek, that matched with the hair and the red dress made Rebekah look stunning and Elena was happy with her work.

Rebekah looked at herself in the floor-length mirror and gasped, tears filling her eyes. “I look beautiful.”

“You’ve always been beautiful, Rebekah.” Elena pointed out with a soft smile.

“Thank you, Elena.” Rebekah hugged Elena tightly. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“You're welcome.” Elena hugged back. “I know this might be hard for you, Bekah, but thank you for helping us stop your father.”

“I just hope this works.” Rebekah murmured. “I won’t mourn Mikael but I will mourn the father that died the day Henrik did.”

“We can hold a funeral if you want?” Elena offered hesitantly.

“Thank you, but no.” Rebekah shook her head. “Anyway, shouldn’t we get on with your hair and makeup?”

“Absolutely.” Elena smiled and walked over to sit down on the chair by the window.

“Embarrassing truth? I have never actually gone to a high school dance before.” Rebekah gave an embarrassed smile. “So I had to look up YouTube videos with Enzo and Damon’s help to find tutorials about the hair and makeup.”

“I trust you Rebekah.” Elena smiled up at her.

“Here goes nothing.” Rebekah muttered and started with Elena’s hair.

Rebekah began by curling Elena’s hair but in loser curls than Elena had done for Rebekah, then she braided all her hair into a messy braid which she pulled into a bun at the back of Elena’s head while she let some strands fall in front of her face. The makeup up she had decided to do was bronze themed with a black winged eyeliner, making Elena’s eyes pop and almost glow, that paired with the ombre dress made Elena look stunning.

“Rebekah…” Elena gasped as she saw herself in the mirror. “You have done an amazing job.”

“I'm glad you are happy with it.” Rebekah looked pleased with herself.

“I love it, Bekah.” Elena promised. “Now, shall we go down and meet our dates?”

“We shall.” Rebekah linked her arm with Elena and together they walked down the stairs to meet Enzo and Damon in the parlor.

Damon and Enzo had offered to be their dates after finding out that neither Rebekah or Elena had enough time to be asked to prom and the girls had agreed with happy smiles. While both Rebekah and Elena knew that neither Damon nor Enzo had eyes for anyone but each other, they were two very good-looking men and it was always fun to go to a dance with a good friend.

“Well, hello there, gorgeous.” Enzo spoke up and took Elena’s hand to kiss the back of it as her and Rebekah walked into the parlor.

“Hello, beautiful.” Damon had done the same thing to Rebekah.

Enzo was wearing a charcoal black suit with a white dress-shirt and a red tie, while Damon was wearing a blue suit with a dark almost black dress-shirt and with no tie. Enzo’s red tie and Damon’s blue suit was to show that even though Damon was escorting Rebekah and Enzo was escorting Elena the four of them were a package deal.

“You look very handsome in that suit, Enzo.” Elena smiled at him.

“This old thing.” Enzo smiled at her.

“Are you talking about the suit or yourself?” Elena smirked teasingly at him.

“Both.” Enzo laughed.

“The color of your suit really makes your eyes look like glaciers.” Rebekah told Damon with a smile.

“Thank you.” Damon offered his arm to Rebekah but before the four of them could even start walking towards the door, Elena’s phone started to ring.

“Caroline don’t worry, we haven't bailed and we are on our way.” Elena chuckled as she answered.

_“That’s good but not the reason I called.”_ Caroline sounded annoyed. _“The gym is flooded so the homecoming is moved to the Lockwood mansion.”_

“Okay, so we’ll meet you there instead,” Elena said like it was no big deal and to her it wasn’t because she knew what was going on, she just didn’t know if Nik had asked Tyler or ordered him, not that it mattered.

_“Sounds good,”_ Caroline sighed. _“But why didn’t I see Bonnie with Erin? And why was Erin with some jock?”_

“Erin and her friends decided for Erin to ask Bonnie to prom as a joke.” Elena heard Rebekah, Damon and Enzo growl and Caroline cursed. “Bonnie is at my place watching feel good movies with Jenna and eating ice cream.”

_“They are going down.”_ Caroline said darkly.

“Of course they are and if one or two end up dead? Well, accidents happen, right?” Elena smirked.

_“We’ll have to take time to make a perfect plan.”_ Caroline hummed.

“But not tonight.” Elena smiled.

“I want in on the revenge plans.” Rebekah said as soon as Elena had hung up the phone.

“Me too.” Damon and Enzo chorused.

“Of course.” Elena agreed with them, “But let’s do prom first.”

When they arrived at the Lockwood mansion the party was in full swing, there was a rock band playing in the garden and everyone from school was there. Before the foursome could move further into the party Tyler walked up to them.

“Alpha.” Tyler nuzzled Elena’s throat and whispered in her ear. “Klaus wanted me to tell you that this isn’t a party, it’s a wake.”

“That clever man.” Elena chuckled and felt a tingle in her stomach, she was going to see Nik again.

“Good evening everyone!” The party goers cheered as Klaus stepped out onto the stage. “I wanted to thank you all for being here with me to celebrate! It’s been a long time coming!”

“Oh, Nik.” Elena chuckled.

A few minutes later, Elena is picked up and spun around by a blond man with a bright, dimpled, smile.

“Hello Kitten.” Nik said softly as he sat her down again. “You look stunning.”

“Thank you.” Elena looked down with a blush. “You look really dashing in your suit.”

“Nik!” Rebekah ran forward and hugged her brother tightly. “I have missed you.”

“I've missed you too, little sister.” Nik hugged back, looking slightly shocked that Rebekah didn’t hate him for the death of their mother.

Rebekah subtly gave Nik a letter, explaining the plan, telling him Kathrine was around here somewhere pretending to be Elena and that Elena was going to stick to being inside the house to avoid her.

“Promise to save me a dance, love?” Nik looked at Elena with sparkling eyes.

“I promise.” Elena smiled back. “Now, go mess with Kathrine.”

An hour and a half later, Elena was watching Nik play beer pong and winning when one of his hybrids came up to him. The hybrid dipped her head in respect to Elena, who they somehow also saw as Alpha along with Klaus, and then she turned to Nik.

“You have a visitor.” Mindy said.

“Well, tell my visitor that I'm on the brink of victory here.” Nik didn’t even look up but Elena could see the smirk tugging on his lips and did that man have unfairly full lips or what?

“He said his name is Mikael.” Mindy spoke again.

Nik turned to look at Elena with a full-blown evil smirk but made sure his voice sounded disappointed as he spoke to Mindy, knowing that Mikael could hear him.

“Then we mustn’t keep him waiting. Move everyone out back.” Nik ordered. “I'm gonna have a little chat with my dad. Tony, you know what to do.”

When Mindy tried to usher Elena out with everyone else, Nik pulled her into his arms with a shake of his head before letting her go and going to the front door where Mikael was standing by the doorway. Elena kept herself hidden from sight but close enough to step in if she needed too.

“Hello, Niklaus.” Mikael said as he saw Nik.

“Hello, Mikael.” Nik answered in the same tone of voice. “Why don’t you come in? Oh, that’s right, I forgot, you can’t.”

Elena had to bite her lip so she wouldn’t laugh and she saw Rebekah, who had arrived a few seconds ago, do the same.

“Or you can come outside if you want.” Mikael dared him.

“Or I can watch my hybrids tear you limb from limb.” Nik suggested as a group of hybrids gathered on the lawn behind Mikael.

“They can’t kill me.” Mikael pointed out.

“True.” Nik agreed. “But it'll make hell of a party game. All I have to do is rub these two fingers together and they’ll pounce.”

“The big bad wolf. You haven't changed.” Mikael shook his head in mock disappointment. “Still hiding behind your playthings like a coward.”

Elena had to grit her teeth before she attacked Mikael and ripped his eyes out of their sockets. Wonder if they grew back?

“They may be sired to you, but they’re still part vampire and they can be compelled by me.” Mindy walked up behind Mikael and pushed Kathrine into his arms. “Come out and face me, Niklaus, or she dies.”

“Go ahead.” Nik looked bored. “Kill her.”

“No, Klaus.” And that was two sure fire proof that it wasn’t Elena, first of, she hadn’t called Nik, Klaus, since Chicago, and second, Elena never whined or begged, especially not for her life. “He’ll do it.”

“If she dies, this lot will be the last of your abominations.” Mikael threatened.

“I don’t need them.” Nik sneered. “I just need to be rid of _you_.”

“To what end, Niklaus? So you can live forever with no one at your side?” Mikael goaded and mocked. “Nobody cares about you any more, boy! What do you have other than those whose loyalty you forced? No one. No one!”

“That’s where you're wrong.” Elena spoke up and walked up to stand besides Nik. “He has more people at his side than you have ever thought possible.”

As Elena had said the last sentence, Rebekah, Caroline, Tyler, Damon and Enzo had stepped up behind Nik, all of them glaring at Mikael.

“My whole life you have underestimated me and hated me for something I cannot control.” Nik looked at his father with his head held high. “You are a truly pathetic, cowardly, man and you don’t deserve to be called a father.”

Mikael looked livid, a vein ticking in his forehead before he suddenly smirked, “You are missing one.”

“What?” Nik started but before he could get further, Stef rushed up behind him, throwing the others to the floor, and twisted Nik around so he could stab the White Oak Tree dagger into Nik’s stomach.

“No!” Elena ran up and tried to get Stef of off Nik but he just batted her aside.

Stef is about to stake Nik when Damon tackled him of Nik and held him down, while Elena, who had seen the stake go flying, grabbed and threw it at Nik with a call of his name. Nik catches it in midair and using the shock from the commotion, jumped at Mikael, driving the stake through his heart; watching in satisfaction as Mikael burst into flames and died.

“Nik!” Elena ran up and tackled him into a hug, not caring about his blood getting on her dress.

“It’s over.” Nik sighed as he buried his face into her neck and just breathed her in.

XOXOXOX

Nik led Elena into the finished Mikaelson mansion with Rebekah walking beside them. As they walked into what Elena assumed was the living room, they saw a coffin laying on the table.

“Nik?” Rebekah asked hopefully.

“I was going to wake up him before the party but something got in the way.” Nik said, more to Elena than to Rebekah, then he turned fully to his sister. “Now that Mikael is dead, we can wake up the rest of our siblings, starting with Elijah.”

Rebekah smiled brightly and walked over to open the lid of the coffin, she reached inside to pull the dagger out but stopped.

“You seem to be wanting to do this since I met you, so why don’t you pull the dagger out?” Rebekah smirked at Elena.

“Together?” Elena asked with a teasing smile as she went to stand beside Rebekah.

They wrapped their hands around the dagger and pulled it out and with a small smiled Elena had an idea to speed up the process.

“Fang.” She said to Rebekah.

“What?” Rebekah looked confused. “What for?”

“You'll see.” Elena smirked. “Now, fang.”

Rebekah, still looking confused, brought her vampire visage to the front and let Elena gut her wrist on her fangs.

Both Nik and Rebekah watched in confusion and fascination as Elena gently opened Elijah’s mouth a little and let her blood drip into his mouth and throat. They understood why she did that when they saw how quickly Elijah regain the color of his skin and sat up.

Elena gave a pleasurable sigh as Elijah sat up and softly started to suck on her wrist. Both Nik and Elijah felt a stirring in their pants at the sigh and Rebekah started to smirk when she noticed her brother’s reactions.

“Thank you, Elena.” Elijah gave her a charming smile as he pulled away from her wrist.

“You're welcome.” Elena looked away with a blush, and what was with her and blushing around Elijah and Nik?

Suddenly Elijah was up and punched Nik across the face, then he fixed the cuffs of his shirt like nothing had happened, “You deserved that.”

“He did.” Rebekah laughed and hugged Elijah.

“Rebekah.” Elijah smiled as he hugged his little sister back.

“Mikael’s dead.” Nik spoke up as Elijah and Rebekah pulled back from each other.

“What?” Elijah turned to Nik with a look that demanded he explain everything.

Nik, Rebekah and Elena took turns explaining everything that had happened since Nik daggered Elijah.

“Are you sure I was only daggered for a few months?” Elijah asked as he looked at Elena.

“Yeah, I'm sure.” Elena giggled.

Nik’s phone rang and with a sigh he picked up. “Hello.”

_“Hello, Klaus.”_ Stef’s voice came from the other end.

“Stef?” Nik sounded confused as he put the phone on speaker.

_“You and your friends ruined the plan to kill you!”_ Stef snarled loudly. _“So now I'm going to take everything from you.”_

“What are you talking about?” Nik growled.

_“I know that I can’t take Elena, the woman both you and your brother are slowly but surely falling in love with.”_ Elena blushed while staring at the phone in Nik’s hand, while doing her best not to look at either Elijah or Nik. _“She is too well protected. Not only by you but by her friends and family. So I took the next best thing.”_

“What did you take?!” Nik demanded to know.

_“Seen your family lately?”_ Stef hung up with a laugh.

Nik looked at his phone for a second before he vamp-sped out of the room. He was back a few minutes later looking absolutely livid.

“He took the coffins with our family!” Nik snarled.

Elijah, Rebekah and Nik shared a look of determination and Elena walked up to the three of them. “I will do whatever I can to help you get them back.”

XOXOXOX

Four days later, Elena walked into the Mikaelson mansion wearing black leather pants, black boots, a black flowy top, a forest green unbuttoned button up and her hair braided into a mohawk.

“I need your help.” Elena looked between Elijah and Nik.

“Mine or Niklaus?” Elijah asked pleasantly.

“Either or both, doesn’t matter.” Elena looked agitated.

“What can we help you with, love?” Nik looked at her.

“I need to kill something but I can’t do this in Mystic Falls, so I need one or both of you to come with me and Jeremy as we go on a killing spree.” Elena told them.

“Why do you need our help with that?” Elijah raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Well, technically I don’t but I thought you two might need a bit of a let loose moment to.” Elena shrugged. “Rebekah went shopping with Bonnie so that left you two alone. Now, are you coming or not?”

“How about we go to Porterdale?” Nik stood up with a smile. “It’s a small town with under 2000 inhabitants where we can have a little bloody fun.”

“Yay!” Elena did a little happy dance, not seeing both Klaus and Elijah looking at her with soft smiles.

“I’ll drive.” Elijah chuckled as he walked towards the door.

“This is going to be awesome.” Jeremy looked happy as Elena walked out of the mansion with Elijah and Klaus.

Elena and Jeremy hopped into the backseat while Klaus took the passenger seat and Elijah drove. The ride to Porterdale took a lot less time than it should with Elijah driving, if the speed went lower than 100mph Elena would eat a plum, and she absolutely hated plums.

“So…” Jeremy looked at Elijah with bright eyes. “Can you teach me to drive like this?”

“The only reason I can drive like this is because of my supernatural reflexes.” Elijah smiled at him in the mirror.

“Oh.” Jeremy looked slightly disappointed.

“If you want to be turned, you just have to ask.” Elijah told him.

“And if my brother isn’t there to do it, I will.” Nik spoke up.

“Can I think about it?” Jeremy asked hesitantly.

“Of course, you can.” Elijah nodded with a reassuring smile.

“Lena?” Jeremy murmured softly.

“If being a vampire is what you want then I’ll support you 100%.” Elena did her best to side hug her little brother. “And I’ll destroy everyone who tries to take your choice away from you. I shall rain down fire and blood.”

“Thank you, Khaleesi.” Jeremy chuckled but hugged back just as tightly.

“Khaleesi?” Nik turned around in his seat to look at them.

“Haven't either of you read ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’?” Elena looked between the two brothers in the front seat.

“No, I have had other things to think about.” Nik shrugged.

“I've been a tiny bit pre-occupied.” Elijah raised a sarcastic eyebrow.

“Okay, spill.” Elena demanded as she narrowed her eyes at Elijah. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?” Elijah asked, sounding slightly confused.

“Make your eyebrow convey that much sarcasm.” Elena deadpanned.

Nik and Jeremy started to laugh as Elijah started to smirk, “That is a secret I’ll never tell.”

“Oh come on!” Elena threw her hands up, then she smiled sweetly. “Would you be up to negotiate for the secret, oh sensei?”

Elijah just smirked at her through the mirror as Nik and Jeremy finally calmed down from their laughter.

“Oh, you should give up. I've been trying for years to get him to tell me.” Nik chuckled softly.

“Of course, he won’t tell _you_.” Elena huffed. “You’re his little brother.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Jeremy wanted to know.

“There are things, beloved baby brother of mine, that an older sibling just doesn’t tell their younger siblings.” Elena hummed. “It’s like an unwritten rule or something.”

“Oh, so it’s almost the same as the unwritten rule that states that a younger sibling is not allowed to tell older singling some things.” Nik nodded with a teasing smile.

“Oh… okay, now I understand why.” Jeremy agreed with Nik.

There was quiet in the car until all four of them started to laugh. After that they kept up the light banter and teasing until Elijah pulled in to a bar and parked the car.

“There are around thirty people in there right now.” Nik said as they all got out of the car. “What do you want to do?”

Elena and Jeremy shared a look before Elena smirked darkly, “We order some food and then we eat, after that… well, who knows?”

The four of them made their way into the bar, all of them feeling the eyes on them but ignoring it. Elena smirked, of course they would look. First you have Elijah looking all gorgeous in a suit with a jawline made for biting, then there's Nik with his blue eyes, dimpled smirk and an aura of danger and lastly you had Jeremy with his broad shoulders, charming boyish smile and warm brown eyes.

“Good evening, gorgeous.” The bartender said as soon as Elena sat down. “What can I getcha?”

“Steak, fries and a coke.” Elena said simply, not really noticing the way the man was looking at her, but her three companions did and all of them glared.

“I’ll have the BBQ ribs and a coke.” Jeremy ordered coldly.

“Bourbon.” Nik growled.

“Whiskey on the rocks.” Elijah looked down on the man with a badly hidden sneer.

Elena ate her steak and fries when they arrived, stealing sips of Nik’s bourbon, not seeing the smiles Elijah and Nik were sending her.

“I noticed when I was in Alaric Saltzman’s body that you seem to have love for bourbon.” Nik spoke up after a while. “When did that start?”

“I don’t know.” Elena shrugged. “I just know that bourbon is really good and that I seem to have a very high alcohol tolerance.”

“High alcohol tolerance?” Jeremy scoffed. “Your tolerance isn’t high, Elena, it’s infinite! I have never seen you drunk, okay? I have seen you slightly tipsy, but never drunk and the tipsy goes away very quickly.”

“What are you not telling us?” Elijah asked as he watched her bite her lip with a peculiar look on her face.

“Well…” Elena trailed off.

“Love?” Nik coxed softly as he put a hand on her arm.

“I can’t get drunk or even tipsy anymore.” Elena rushed out. “Not since the ritual.”

“What do you mean?” Jeremy looked at his sister with worried eyes.

“I started to notice when me and Aunt Jenna had a girl’s night and we were drinking.” Elena played with the straw in her coke glass. “And while Jenna kept getting tipsier, I didn’t feel anything, so I started to freak a little.”

“What did you do?” Elijah placed a soft hand on the arm opposite the one Nik had a hand on.

“I went to the boarding house when I knew Enzo and Damon where gone and I drank four and a half bottles of bourbon in less than two hours.” Elena tried to say it as quickly as possible.

“That could have killed you!” Jeremy gasped.

“Jeremy, it _should_ have killed me.” Elena looked at him with big eyes. “And it didn’t even make me the slightest bit tipsy.”

“I am so very sorry.” Elijah looked down with shame written all over his face.

“Why are you apologizing?” Elena tilted her head as she turned to him.

“I gave you that potion to bring you back after the sacrifice.” Elijah murmured softly. “I didn’t know it would change you.”

“I don’t think it’s only that.” Elena said slowly. “I think it’s a combination of different things.”

“Of what?” Nik wondered, not even mad that his brother had managed to use the potion on Elena.

“The potion probably played a part but…” Elena turned towards Nik. “Have you ever heard the saying: ‘A willing sacrifice is a powerful thing’?”

“Wait… are you saying…?” Nik faltered as he looked between Elena, Elijah and Jeremy.

“I don’t know to which degree we are bound together but we somehow are.” Elena looked him straight in the eyes. “How else would you explain you just _knowing_ that I was in danger? Even when you were several miles away?”

“Is that why the hybrids are looking at you as if they were sired to you too but in a lesser degree?” Jeremy asked, having noticed the hybrids reaction to his sister.

“We should ask a witch we trust to see if they can feel the bond or even if they can figure out what is happening.” Elijah looked thoughtful.

“Can we stop with the heavy stuff for a while?” Elena pleaded. “We did come here for a reason.”

“And what would that reason be, beautiful?” An unwashed, smelly man asked with a leer from Elena’s left.

Elena turned to him with a pleasant smile. “Murder.”

“What?” The unwashed man asked with a frown.

“Murder,” Elena repeated as she stabbed him in the eye with her fork and a few seconds later her knife went into the man’s throat, severing the artery there.

The screams started as Elena looked up at her brother and the two Originals with a smile, blood splattered on her face, and after they had smiled back, the four of them went about their killing spree. Nik and Elijah had decided to let Elena and Jeremy have most of the fun while they picked off the ones that tried to run out of the bar.

Elena kept a hold on her steak knife, using it to stab people left, right and center, while a happy smile and a bright, tinkling laugh slipped from her lips. Every few minutes she would look up at her three companions to see what they were doing.

She admired the way Elijah killed so very gracefully, not getting a drop of blood on his suit, the way Nik savagely ripped people apart, his hybrid visage on full display, Jeremy and his way of breaking necks, just the way Damon had taught him.

“Having fun, little brother?” Elena asked as they walked together towards a woman trying to hide behind the bar.

“I haven't had this fun in ages.” Jeremy chuckled. “And you, sister-mine?”

“Oh, the freedom and the weight lifting of my shoulders is amazing.” Elena smiled brightly.

“Where do you think you're going?” Jeremy grabbed the woman as she tried to dart past him.

“Yeah, we’re not done playing yet.” Elena pouted. “Everyone else died too quickly.”

The woman stopped struggling as she looked around the bar and when she saw that she was the only one left alive, she started to blubber with snot and tears running down her face.

“What should we do with you now?” Jeremy hummed as he played with a knife he had found on one of the bodies.

“Just let me go.” The woman begged.

“Where's the fun in that?” Elena asked almost gently. “What’s your name?”

“W… wh…what?” The woman sobbed.

“What's your name?” Elena repeated, sounding slightly annoyed.

“I would answer her.” Jeremy spoke up. “She tends to get stabby when people ignore her.”

“Sarah.” The woman, Sarah, answered quickly.

“Aww, did you have to warn her?” Elena pouted at her brother. “I wanted to stab her.”

“My apologize, sister-mine.” Jeremy smiled at Elena. “But I think our Aunt would dislike us playing with the food.”

“You're probably right.” Elena nodded thoughtfully.

“You can’t eat me!” Sarah screamed at them in fear.

“What?” Elena looked shocked for a second before she started to laugh. “Oh, don’t be silly, we’re not going to eat you.”

“B… b… but h… he said that you s… sh… shouldn’t play with y… your food.” Sarah stuttered.

“No I said we shouldn’t play with _the_ food.” Jeremy corrected.

“But…” Sarah looked confused.

“We won’t eat you.” Elena reassured and when Sarah started to slump in relief she smirked, gestured to Elijah and Nik and continued, “They on the other hand, might.”

Elijah let his vampire visage come forward as he smirked darkly at the woman, seeming to enjoy letting go of his morals and rules for once, surrounded by people he knew wouldn’t judge him for his savage side.

Nik followed Elijah’s lead by letting his own hybrid face come to the front, loving having his older brother by his side at the same time as he had his cub and his mate. Wait…? Cub? Mate? What was going on?

He was knocked out of his little thinking session by the acrid smell of urine. “That is just disgusting.”

“So uncivilized.” Elijah muttered while sneering in revulsion as he smelled the piss.

“Eww.” Elena gagged as she saw what the Original brothers where disgusted by.

“Seriously?” Jeremy asked with a nauseated look on his face.

“I'm not touching… that.” Nik gestured to Sarah.

“I agree completely with my brother.” Elijah nodded.

“I don’t want to either.” Jeremy looked at Elena.

“There might be something we can do.” Elena said thoughtfully as she looked around.

“What chaos is brewing in your mind, love?” Nik asked with a smirk.

“Well, you or Elijah could just compel her to kill herself you know.” Elena smirked. “But make it fun.”

“What say you, little brother?” Elijah smiled darkly. “How shall we do this?”

“Make her break her own bones with a hammer?” Nik suggested.

“Start cutting of her own body parts?” Elijah hummed.

“Carve pieces of her own flesh away and put them in the fire?” Nik chuckled.

“I know.” Elijah smirked and turned to compel Sarah. “Take the knife that Elena will put on the table and slit your own throat, slowly.”

“Oh, that’s a good one.” Elena cackled as she put the knife in her hand on the table.

Elena watched, almost bouncing in place, as Sarah grabbed the knife and slowly slit her own throat. It was fascinating to see her do it and Elena assumed that the only reason she managed to slit the whole way, from ear to ear, was because of the compulsion.

“So…” Jeremy spoke up as Sarah died. “How do we get rid of the evidence?”

“That’s the easy part.” Nik laughed and threw an arm over Jeremy’s shoulders. “We burn it down.”

“The whole bar?” Jeremy asked in awe with eyes sparkling with excitement.

“The _whole_ bar.” Nik assured him.

“Epic.” Jeremy breathed out.

The ‘cleaning up’ went faster than Elena had thought it would. Together the four of them poured alcohol and other very flammable substances all over the inside of the bar before Elijah set it on fire and they walked back out to the car.

They stood and watched as the bar went up in flames and it was as Elena looked at the happiness on her little brothers face that she decided that getting him a flamethrower for his birthday might be an idea.

As they made their way home Nik ended up driving with Jeremy in the passenger seat, asking him about all the torture and mayhem Nik had created over the years which Nik seemed to be delighted about. Elena on the other hand, ended up falling asleep cuddled up to Elijah in the backseat with a content smile on her face. Just before she fell asleep, she felt Elijah pull her closer and nuzzle her hair with a whispered “Mine.”

**A/N: Another chapter!**

**I hope you liked my cannon divergence instead of following along with the episode :)**

**Another thing; The updates on this fic will become farther between because of several reasons.**

**One; I have working towards my dissertation and that is going to take up a lot of my time.**

**Two; Me and my best friend are having a Star Wars marathon, which leads into reason number three.**

**Three; My best friend has commissioned me to write a Star Wars fanfiction with a ‘OC gets reborn as a character’ plot thing and I am working on that at the same time that I'm working on this.**

**I hope that you all are okay with the updates delays :)**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


	29. Talking, Pool and Star Wars

**A/N: I am so, so, so sorry for the long wait and that I haven't answered any of your comments. I have been really busy and time have just sort of gotten away from me.**

**I'm sorry again and here's a chapter.**

***Basically throws chapter at you and runs away***

Elena woke up in a big bed with soft pillows, as the sun barely peaked over the horizon and wondered how she got there. The last thing she remembered was leaning against Elijah in the car on the way home from the bar. She didn’t recognize the room she was in now but guessed it was an unoccupied room in the Mikaelson manor.

She burrowed further into the warmth of the bed as she thought about what she should do about Stef taking the coffins from Nik. After the killing spree she had gone on with Jeremy, Nik and Elijah, her mind felt clearer than it had for a while and it was like some pressure had lifted from her shoulders.

Knowing where Stef was keeping the coffins didn’t really help Elena because she couldn’t just walk up to Nik and Elijah and say ‘I know where your siblings are!’ And how do I know that? Oh, I died in another reality where your lives are a tv-show before I woke up in Elena Gilbert’s body and that’s how I know.

Yeah… No, that wouldn’t work. What if she… Elena sat up with a quiet gasp. That idea had merit and could work, she just had to put on her best performance to date and hope that the Mikaelson siblings believed her.

She slowly got up from the bed and saw that she was wearing a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt that didn’t belong to her and assumed that Jeremy, Elijah or Nik had changed her clothes or something.

As Elena walked towards the door, she made her eyes look as distant as possible, wanting it to look like she wasn’t really ‘at home’ right now. She walked down the stairs and approached the front door when she heard Elijah greet her.

“Good morning, Elena.” Elijah sounded like he was smiling.

Elena ignored him and kept walking. She knew that she worried him as he hurried over to stand in front of her. She just ignored him again and walked around him.

“Elena?” Elijah grabbed her arm gently.

“What’s going on?” Elena heard Nik ask from somewhere behind her.

“I don’t know.” Elijah answered softly. “It’s like she isn’t really here, so to speak.”

“What’s going on, love?” Nik was suddenly right in front of her and then she saw Jeremy walk up beside Elijah out of the corner of her eye.

“I need to get the Oldest and the Youngest.” Elena tried to make her voice sound eerie and far away.

“Oldest and Youngest?” Jeremy wondered softly from beside Elijah.

“The Oldest has been sleeping… sleeping… sleeping for so long.” Elena decided that she could make a killing at faking being a seer, she was doing an awesome job. “The Youngest… so full of mischief… so full of bloodthirsty fun.”

The other three in front of the front door stood quiet for a while before Elijah gasped and looked at Elena, “You know where Finn and Kol are being kept?”

“Need to get them.” Elena murmured again and this time when she walked past Elijah, he let her.

“Let’s follow her.” Nik said and Elijah and Jeremy agreed.

“Is she okay?” Jeremy sounded worried.

“I don’t know, cub, but we will do our best to make sure that she is.” Nik said and through the corner of her eye Elena saw him place a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder.

As Elena walked towards the old witch house, she knew that Death was helping her, because she was absolutely certain that she didn’t know the way through the woods but here she was. Her feet started to hurt after a while, walking barefoot through the woods wasn’t the best idea apparently.

Elena ignored it when she felt a sharp rock cut her foot and just kept walking, knowing that she needed to see her plan through to the end.

“I hope we get where she's leading soon.” Nik murmured behind her.

“You getting tired?” Jeremy tried to tease.

“No but Elena is bleeding.” Elijah told him gently.

“What?!” Jeremy called out.

“She must have cut her foot on something.” Nik explained.

Elena kept walking and finally the old witch house came into sight. She almost sighed in relief; her feet hurt an awful lot. She was surprised when she got to where she knew the coffins where and only saw two of them. Where was Esther’s coffin?

“You found them.” Nik sounded so happy at that that Elena had to do her very best not to smile and hug him.

As Elijah and Nik walked towards the coffins, Elena was trying to think of a way to ‘come out’ of her ‘trance like’ state when suddenly both Nik and Elijah fell to the floor, clutching their heads and screaming in pain.

“What’s going on?!” Jeremy ran up to Nik to try and help.

“The dead witches.” Elena gasped in understanding. “They are hurting them.”

‘What can I do?!’ Elena thought desperately.

_“Let me use you as a vessel for a short time, daughter, and I shall help them.”_ Death whispered in her mind.

‘What do I need to do?’ Elena asked/thought with determination even as she felt like her head was splitting in two.

_“Don’t fight me.”_ Death answered, then it was like she was floating and everything went black.

_*Slight POV change*_

Jeremy looked up as he heard his sister gasp and stumbled back in surprise, even as he heard Nik and Elijah stop screaming as they stood up. Elena’s eyes were pure, bottomless, void like black.

_“You dare to harm the people that my chosen daughter loves?!”_ The voice that came out of Elena’s mouth wasn’t hers. Elena’s voice was there but overlapping it was an ancient and powerful force that everyone in the house could feel in their very souls, living and dead.

Jeremy and the Mikaelson brothers heard some vague whispers around the room before the being that spoke through Elena spoke up again, _“You shall leave and never harm another who is under my chosen daughter’s protection or I will erase you from existence.”_

The air was suddenly clearer and not as oppressive as it had been since they had arrived. Jeremy felt like a weight had lifted from his shoulder and that he could breathe easier, which was weird because he hadn’t even noticed that he had had trouble breathing.

“Who are you?” Nik growled and tried to make himself as tall and imposing as possible. “Get out of Elena!”

_“You are quite adorable.”_ The being chuckled before it turned completely serious. _“And the only reason I'm even telling you anything is that Elena cares about you. But rest assured, if you EVER hurt her, nothing will be able to save you.”_

“Excuse my brother, he’s very protective of Elena.” Elijah angled his body as a shield to protect Jeremy and Nik.

_“To answer you brothers’ question; I've had many names over many millennia, but the most well know is Death.”_ The being, Death, smirked.

“Your death? As in The Death?” Jeremy asked with wide eyes. “And what did you mean when you called Elena was your ‘chosen daughter’?”

_“Exactly that.”_ Death said simply.

“If you are Death, isn’t your presence in Elena’s body harming her?” Elijah looked worried.

_“You have always been an intelligent one.”_ Death smiled softly. _“You are correct, a human body was never meant to contain my being and so Elena is suffering. I will leave her and you need to give her your blood to help her recover.”_

“Done.” Nik agreed with that quickly.

_“Take care of her.”_ Death smiled again. _“And just so you know, vampires are not abominations, you are just the way you are supposed to be.”_

Elena suddenly began to fall to the floor like a marionet with its strings cut. Elijah, who was closest, caught her before she hit the ground, lifting her up in a bridal carry.

“Jeremy, can you take her and go outside while me and Nik grab the coffins?” Elijah walked up to Jeremy.

“Yeah, no problem.” Jeremy gingerly took his sister from the Original and walked out of the house, all the while feeling more and more sure about his decision.

XOXOXOX

Elena woke up slowly, feeling well rested and accomplished. She made a move to stretch when she felt a warm body lying beside her and quickly opened her eyes. At first, she smiled as she saw her sleeping little brother but then she frowned, were those tear tracks on his face? Who the fuck hurt her baby brother?!

“Wake up, Jere.” Elena shook his shoulder gently.

“Lena…?” Jeremy mumbled as he woke up.

“Yeah, baby brother.” Elena smiled.

“Lena!” Jeremy buried his head in her neck and started to cry.

“Shh, baby, shh.” Elena cooed. “It’s okay, everything will be okay.”

“Tyler broke up with me.” Jeremy sobbed quietly.

“What? Why?” Elena felt shock run through her. Jeremy and Tyler were so in love that it was ridiculous… weren't they?

“He said that he couldn’t be together with a murderer, and that while he had been to visit Mason, he met a woman that he really liked.” Jeremy sniffled.

“Oh Jere, you’ll find the person or persons that is the other part or parts of you.” Elena stroked her hand through his hair, even as she planned her revenge on Tyler for hurting her Jere-Bear.

“Like you’ve found Elijah and Nik?” Jeremy pulled back and sent his older sister a wet, teasing smile, obviously trying to think about something else instead of Tyler.

“This conversation is about you, little brother.” Elena blushed even as she allowed the conversation changer, then before she could say anything else, her stomach gave a rumble.

“Seems like someone is hungry.” Jeremy chuckled.

“Yeah, come on.” Elena jumped up from the bed and absentmindedly noticed that she was wearing a new set of sweatpants and a soft button up shirt.

“The pants are Nik’s while the shirt belongs to Elijah.” Jeremy informed her when he noticed that she was looking at her clothes.

“That’s nice of them to lend me their clothes.” Elena smiled.

“Yeah, nice.” Jeremy smirked. “It has nothing to do with you now smelling like them and them liking to see you in their clothes.”

“What are you on about?” Elena asked with a confused frown.

“Nothing, sister-mine, nothing at all.” Jeremy kept on smirking but Elena chose to ignore it… for now, at least.

“Come on, let’s get food.” Elena declared and made her way out of the room.

As they walked down the stairs, they heard quiet voices from a room to the side, Elena recognized Nik’s and Elijah’s voices in a heartbeat but she was certain she recognized a third voice too, while the fourth was unknown.

Silently, with Jeremy watching her back, Elena walked over to the room and then she softly pushed the door open. She froze for one, two, three seconds before she squealed in happiness as she rushed over and attacked one of the people in the room with a hug.

“Finn!” Elena felt him catch her as she attacked, tackled, jumped hugged the man.

“Elena?!” Finn sounded shocked even as he hugged back with equal strength.

“You know him?”

“You know her?”

Elena let go of Finn and turned to look at Jeremy and the other guy who had voiced their questions. She smiled at Jeremy before turning to Elijah and Nik with a shy smile.

“Since the ritual I have started to meet with Finn in a forest world.” Elena tried her best to explain. “Sometimes it happens when I sleep, other times when I'm close to death.”

“So you are the new doppelgänger.” A young man said as he walked up to her.

“So you are the youngest male Mikaelson.” Elena said back in the same tone of voice.

“You don’t seem that impressive.” The man hummed.

“Oh, I'm sorry. Shall I do a backflip?” Elena mock bowed to him. “Or should I rip your throat out with my teeth?”

“I'm Kol.” Kol introduced himself and Elena had to stop herself from gasping as all her memories about Finn and Kol returned. She was going to have to have a serious talk with Death about proper times to give her memories back.

“Elena.” Elena said simply before she turned back to Finn. “Are you okay?”

“I'm a bit confused about this time, but I just woke up so I guess that is to be expected.” Finn smiled at her. “But Nicky and Lijah has been explaining what has been going on.”

“You should tell them, all of them, why you where so distant when you where all human.” Elena advised him softly. “They wont judge you and if they do, I’ll prank them.”

“Tell them what ever she's telling you to tell them.” Jeremy said quickly. “She’s is mayhem incarnate when it comes to pranking.”

“Why, thank you little brother.” Elena beamed at him.

“I don’t think we've been introduced.” Kol walked over towards Jeremy, all the while giving him an appreciative once over. “I'm Kol Mikaelson, at your service.”

“Jeremy Gilbert.” Jeremy held out his hand so Kol could shake it, but instead Kol kissed the back of his hand with a small smirk.

“A pleasure.” Kol almost purred.

“Get your grabby paws off my baby brother!” Elena snarled and made to attack Kol, feeling over protective of her baby brother since Tyler just broke his heart.

“Calm down, love.” Nik chuckled as he caught her around the waist.

“Elena, do you have some time?” Elijah asked politely. “Niklaus and I wanted to talk to you.”

“Yes, she does.” Jeremy was giving Elena a knowing smirk. “And if you want privacy, I can take Kol and Finn to the grill and then show them around.”

“What do you know?” Elena narrowed her eyes at her brother.

“Elijah and Nik will tell you.” Jeremy laughed.

“I would like to go to this ‘grill’ if it isn’t to much trouble.” Finn looked at Jeremy.

“It would be my pleasure.” Jeremy smiled at the oldest Mikaelson.

“I’ll come to, might be interesting.” Kol hummed thoughtfully.

“No murder!” Elena looked at Jeremy and then Kol before she turned to Finn. “Keep them out of trouble, please?”

“I’ll do my best.” Finn hugged her before leaving the room.

“I promise no murder… at least with out you.” Jeremy chuckled as he left with Kol following.

Things were quiet for a few minutes before Elena’s stomach gave a rumble again. She looked up at Elijah and Nik with a sheepish smile, “Can we talk while I eat?”

“Of course, darling.” Elijah smiled at her but she thought she saw a flash of nervousness in his eyes before it was gone.

Elijah led her to the kitchen with a hand on her lower back, it almost felt like a brand. Elena knew she should feel weird or apprehensive of the possessive gesture but instead she felt warm and safe.

“Sadly, the only thing I can actually make with the stuff we have are toast.” Nik said a little embarrassed.

“Toas would be perfect.” Elena smiled at him.

“I’ll do that then.” Nik’s whole face lit up with a beaming smile.

As Nik was making her toast and pouring her a glass of orange juice, Elijah was running his hand absentmindedly up and down her back as he was lost in thought. Elena wanted to ask what was going on but at the same time she wanted them to speak in their own time.

After she had eaten her toast and finished her glass of arrange juice she got up and placed the dirty dishes in the sink before she turned back to Elijah and Nik. “Okay, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

They were quiet for a few seconds while exchanging looks before Elijah gestured for her to follow them. The walked into a sitting room that Elena hadn’t been in before and sat down on the couch with Elena in the middle and Nik on her left, Elijah on her right.

“Elena…” Elijah broke of with a sigh, before he took a deep breath. “Elena, you are the most amazing woman I have ever met in my very long life…”

Elena felt her face heat up with a blush, while at the same time butterflies were running rampant in her stomach, Was Aunt Jenna right? Did he like her? What about Nik?

“You never judge me for my more vicious moments and you never try to change me to fit into a certain mold, you just accept me for who and what I am without any conditions.” Elijah looked her deep in the eyes. “And because of you being who you are, I have fallen deeply, irreversibly, completely in love with you.”

Elena sat there feeling shock go through her body, she didn’t know what to say. Luckily before she actually had to say anything, Nik angled her towards him so he could look her in the eyes.

“And he is not the only one.” Nik smiled with a hint of uncertainty. “You are a light in my dark world. You make the bad days’ worth living through if only to see you smile at me again.”

Elena felt the breath catch in her throat, was this actually happening? Was she dreaming or hallucinating or something? There was no way these two gorgeous, kind, powerful men wanted her! She was just plain old Elena.

“But we also know that you care deeply for those you consider friends and family.” Nik continued. “So, we talked, extensively, about this and if you are agreeable, you could have us both.”

“We have agreed that for you? We would be able to share, as long as you are happy.” Elijah spoke up gently.

The thoughts were swirling sound her head at a rapid speed. Aunt Jenna had said that as long as all three of them where okay with the arrangement than it was fine. Aunt Jenna had also mumbled something about consent being sexy but Elena did really catch that bit.

Could she be with them, give them her heart and soul and risk her outliving them and never seeing them in the afterlife? Could she bind them to her in some way that if she died and moved on to another reality like that said she could, would she be able to bring them with her?

XOXOXOX

**A/N: In this part there is someone placing blame on a rape victim and that might be triggering for some, you have been warned.**

Elena stood up from the couch and started to pace as she rubbed her hands together in a nervous gesture. She didn’t want to agree to this and then die, leaving them alone and in pain, with broken hearts that would take years to heal.

She stopped her pacing in front of the couch and looked at the two men that had unknowingly stolen her heart. “When I first met you both, I had no idea what was happening to me.”

“What do you mean, love?” Nik asked gently.

“It started around Elijah first, my stomach would feel tingly and I would blush and feel light headed.” Elena explained. “Then it started to happen around Nik as well and I asked my Aunt if I was sick or dying. She told me that I was in love with you both, I didn't really believe her at first but after I spent more time with you both I finally accepted that she was right.”

“Does this mean…?” Elijah was up and at her side faster than she could blink.

“That I love you both too? Yes.” Elena nodded but held up her hand when Elijah was about to talk. “But what if I agree to this and then something happens to me and you two are left with broken hearts? I could never hurt you like that. Or what if something happened to you both? What would I do then? I could not bear the thought.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to you or us.” Nik assured her with certainty as he walked up to her.

“You can’t know that Nik.” Elena protested. “In case you’ve missed it, our lives isn’t exactly a dance on roses.”

“Is that your only concern?” Elijah asked.

“Yes, but…” Elena started but was interrupted by Elijah’s lips against hers.

Elena felt like an electric current went through her body. The kiss wasn’t demanding or deep, just soft and with a gentleness that made Elena go a little light headed. Another concern she had thought about but hadn’t said was that she was scared that she would freak out when it comes to intimate touches thanks to Tanner and Brady, but Elijah’s kiss just made all thoughts about them disappear from her mind.

“Wow.” Elena said as Elijah pulled back with a smiled mixed smirk.

Before she could collect her thoughts, she was pulled into another kiss, this time by Nik. Nik was a little more demanding but still soft and gentle as he kissed her. He used a hand to cup her face before he pulled back.

“Yes.” Elena murmured when she finally could think again.

Luckily both Nik and Elijah understood that she was agreeing to be in a triad with them and gave her a peck on the lips, both of them having bright smiles on their faces, making Elena blush and smile back.

“How about we go for a walk?” Elijah offered, then he smirked teasingly at Elena. “With shoes on this time.”

“What?” Elena asked, she knew she had to keep up the lie about being in a ‘trance’ like thing when she found Finn and Kol.

“What do you remember about yesterday?” Nik wanted to know.

“It’s blurry… I needed to find something?... someone?... There was a pull…” Elena made it look like she had a hard time remembering. “You both were in pain… I wanted to stop it… then everything is…”

“You walked out of the mansion without shoes and found Finn and Kol’s coffins and then you were possessed by Death.” Nik informed her.

“Huh, cool.” Elena said softly.

“Well, of course, you would react like that.” Elijah chuckled. “So, how about that walk?”

“I would love to.” Elena smiled. “But I don’t have any clothes.”

“You can borrow some of Rebekah’s.” Nik shrugged.

“Where is Rebekah?” Elena almost felt ashamed for having forgotten about her friend.

“She said that she was planning revenge with Caroline and Bonnie.” Elijah chuckled. “She wanted me to tell you that they wouldn’t finalize the plans for revenge until you and Jenna could join them.”

“That’s my girls.” Elena smirked viciously.

Elena felt like she was floating on clouds as she made her way up to Rebekah’s room to find something to wear. They loved her! She almost couldn’t believe it was true but she knew it was and she was so very happy.

Half an hour later Elena was walking through Mystic Falls holding hands with Elijah and Nik, smiling all the while. She had found a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a pink top and a pair of black high heels. She had searched for a jacked but hadn’t been able to find one before Nik had given her one of his sweaters, making her silently squeal at wearing one of her boyfriends, are they her boyfriends?, sweater.

They walked all around town, never buying anything, just looking and ignored the stares and whispers from the other people out and about.

“How about we go to the grill and save your brother from ours?” Nik asked with a smile as he looked at Elena.

“I'm more worried about your brothers than mine, honestly.” Elena smirked. “I've thought Jeremy everything I know about torture, mischief and mayhem.”

“And suddenly I feel like letting Jeremy and Kol meet was the worst idea ever.” Elijah hummed with amusement.

Before they could make it far, they were stopped by a screech, “Elena!!”

“Amanda?” Elena asked calmy as the cheerleader stormed up to them.

“What are you doing?” Amanda demanded to know.

“Walking.” Elena said slowly.

“Why are you holding hands with two older men?” Amanda hissed, ignoring said older men.

“Because I want to.” Elena stated firmly.

“You’re sleeping with them for their money, aren't you?” Amanda stuck her nose in the air with a sneer. “You are such a slut. You probably begged Mr. Tanner for it huh?

Anyone else would have stopped speaking at the looks they were getting from the two men but Amanda just kept talking.

“What? Did he refuse to pay you and that’s why you accused him of rape?” Amanda huffed. “That’s so typical. I bet you're letting your brother tap that too, I mean, why else would he get so mad at that jock that slapped your ass.”

Elena knew that Amanda continued ranting but she couldn’t hear her, the blood rushing in her ears was making her dizzy. How did people find out about Tanner? And was that really what they thought? Did she lead me on? Was it her fault?

“Elena, love, I need you to breath.” Nik’s face came into focus in front of her.

“Nik?” Elena managed to gasp.

“That’s it, love, that’s it.” Nik smiled at her.

Elena looked over Nik’s shoulder and saw a pissed off looking Elijah holding Amanda by the throat. They were lucky that Amanda had confronted her in a place that was almost hidden, so no one would see Elijah holding a teenager by the throat.

“I’ll take the trash to the basement.” Elijah said with a deep growl. “I’ll meet you two at the grill in a few minutes.”

Elena gave a brittle smile and held up her hand in the ALS sign for _I Love You_. Elijah smiled warmly back as he mouthed the words back at her.

“Come along, love.” Nik picked her up into his arms as soon as Elijah was gone with Amanda. “Let’s run the rest of the way.”

A second later the only sign that anyone had been there was Elena’s bright laughter on the wind.

XOXOXOX

When Elena and Nik arrived at the grill, they found Jeremy teaching Finn and Kol how to play pool. Her little brother had a bright smile on his face as he enthusiastically gestured with his hands and explained the game.

“Jere-Bear!” Elena skipped over to hug him.

“Sister-mine!” Jeremy hugged back.

“Cub.” Nik nodded with a smile before greeting his brothers.

“Do you wanna play?” Jeremy asked as he looked between Nik and Elena.

“I would love too!” Elena bounced in place while Nik declined.

“So how should we do this?” Kol asked, confused how the game would work with four people.

“Well, how about me and Finn against you and Jeremy?” Elena offered as she looked at Kol.

“Yeah, that works.” Kol nodded.

“I would be delighted.” Finn smiled as he came up to her.

“Before you four start, do any of you want something to eat or drink?” Nik offered.

“Oh, oh, oh,” Elena jumped up and down. “Vanilla milkshake, hot wings and lots and lots of fries.”

“Of course love, anyone else?” Nik chuckled.

“Hamburger and fries with a coke, please.” Jeremy shrugged a little.

“Whiskey.” Kol smirked.

“Surprise me.” Finn said as he knew nothing of the food or drink of the modern day.

“I’ll get right on that.” Nik kissed Elena before he walked over to the bar.

“I don’t know whatever I should be glad for you or threaten him.” Jeremy looked like he couldn’t decide if he should glare at Nik’s retreating back or not.

“Shall we play this game or no?” Finn spoke up with a small smirk.

They played for a while with Finn and Elena winning, and if that was because Elena was cheating, well is it really cheating if no one notice? As Elena gave the pool que to Finn, Elijah sped into the bar and up to the pool table where they were gathered.

“Elena.” Elijah smiled and kissed her softly.

“You go girl.” Jeremy hooted as he noticed them.

“You don’t mind?” Elijah asked, knowing how protective Jeremy was of his sister.

“That both you and Nik are in a relationship with my sister? That you both love her and would do anything for her?” Jeremy asked as Nik walked up to a table nearby with the food and drinks. “You and Nik are the only two men I would trust my sisters’ heart with… Don’t screw it up!”

“Because if you do, Jeremy will have a lot of back up to take you guys down.” Enzo said darkly as he and Damon walked up to them.

“I would never intentionally hurt Elena.” Nik declared strongly as he put an arm around her waist.

“We’ll protect her.” Elijah promised.

“And there is no relationship that doesn’t have arguments.” Elena spoke up. “To have emotions, likes and dislikes is to sometimes not agree with the other parts of you. What different love and care makes is compromise.”

Elena walked over to the table with their food and sat down with Elijah on one side and Nik on the other, as she waved goodbye to Enzo and Damon. Jeremy took a seat opposite her with Finn opposite Elijah and Kol facing Nik.

“So, Lena, when did you finally figure out that you were in love with Elijah and Nik?” Jeremy asked as he picked up his burger. “No offence meant, sister-mine, but you are a tad oblivious to people having feelings for you and you having feelings for people.”

“…” Elena mumbled something that even the Originals couldn’t hear.

“Can you repeat that?” Jeremy looked at her oddly.

“Aunt Jenna had to point it out to me, okay?” Elena’s whole face was burning from the blush she could feel traveling up to the tips of her ears.

Jeremy shocked on a piece of food and started to cough before he burst out laughing. “Aunt Jenna had to tell you? Oh my God, that’s hilarious.”

“Shut up.” Elena grumbled even as a smile twitched on her lips.

“Is your Aunt the woman you were telling me about in the forest?” Finn asked with curiosity shining in his eyes.

“Yeah.” Elena nodded. “Aunt Jenna is my hero!”

“I like Jenna, she's very kind but also fierce.” Elijah took a fry from Elena’s plate.

“I would like to meet her.” Kol said as he sipped his whiskey.

“That can be arranged.” Jeremy hummed. “But only if you promise to behave.”

“You people are no fun.” Kol grumbled. “First I wasn’t allowed to kill anyone here and now I have to behave?”

Elena and Jeremy shared a look before they started to laugh. After calming down for a bit Jeremy smirked at Kol. “We just don’t want you killing anyone in the grill because you don’t know who is off limits and who’s not.”

“And the only person we want you to behave around is our Aunt.” Elena chuckled. “We tend to go out of town when we feel like going on a killing spree or two.”

“Yeah, we did go on a killing spree a few days ago.” Jeremy hummed. “It was fun. Nik and Elijah helped.”

“Elijah helped…?” Kol looked very shocked.

“He gave a whole new meaning to ‘killer suit’.” Elena giggled and kissed Elijah on the cheek.

“Elijah helped?!” Kol now had the look of someone whose whole world had been turned upside-down.

“Wanna try?” Elena offered her fries to Finn as she ignored Kol and his existential crisis.

“What are they?” Finn curiously took a fry.

“One of the best things humanity has ever come up with.” Elena declared. “It’s made of potatoes and they are fried.”

Finn looked at the fry again before he slowly put it in his mouth. After chewing slowly, he smiled at Elena, “Not bad.”

“They are even better if you dip them in milkshake.” Elena smiled.

“Can I try?” Kol asked, seemingly having gotten over his prim and proper older brother going on a killing spree.

“Of course.” Elena placed the fries and milkshake in the middle of the table. “You are all welcome to my food.”

“Wow.” Jeremy said with wide eyes.

“What?” Nik looked at him.

“Elena must really like all of you.” Jeremy looked around at the table’s occupants.

“And why is that?” Finn wanted to know.

“Food to Elena is sacred.” Jeremy started to smirk. “I once saw her stab Damon in the thigh with a fork when he tried to steal a chicken nugget from her plate.”

The Originals turned to look at Elena with wide eyes.

“What?” Elena smiled.

“I adore you.” Nik chuckled as he kissed her.

“I know.” Elena’s smile turned into a small smirk.

“Really Elena?” Jeremy huffed in amusement. “Star Wars quotes.”

“Star Wars is awesome!” Elena maintained, even after all these years. Then her eyes lit up. “We should have a Star Wars Marathon!”

“Sure, you know I'm always up for Star Wars.” Jeremy smiled. “But in which order should we watch? The order they were produced or chronological?”

“Should we watch Clone Wars too or skip it?” Elena hummed thoughtfully.

“Are not all movies made in chronological order?” Fin asked softly. “And what is a movie?”

“A movie is a story with moving pictures and sounds.” Jeremy smiled at the oldest Mikaelson brother.

“And not all movies are made in chronological order.” Elena explained. “Star Wars started with the Original Trilogy, _Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope_ , _Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back_ and _Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi_.”

“Those three came out 1977, 1980 and 1983 respectively.” Jeremy continued. “Then in 1999 _Star Wars episode I: The Phantom Menace_ came out followed by _Star Wars Episode II: The Attack of The Clones_ in 2002 and _Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2005_.”

“So they made them in the order 4, 5, 6 and then a decade later they made 1, 2, 3?” Kol asked slightly confused.

“Yup.” Elena and Jeremy chorused.

“I think I would like to watch these Star Wars movies.” Finn said with his head tilted to the side.

“Movie weekend at the Mikaelson Mansion.” Elena declared.

“Why the Mansion?” Nik asked as he nuzzled her neck.

“Bigger tv, of course.” Elena smiled, not at all worried about having a vampire so close to her neck.

As Elena sat there, basking in the feeling of her family around her, she started to plan on how to go forward from there. She knew Death had a plan on how to deal with Esther and Stef but Elena wondered if they had an idea on how to get Kai out of the prison world.

She intertwined her fingers with Elijah as she leaned her head against Nik’s shoulder, those heavy planning thoughts could be left for another day, right now she was just going to enjoy the moment.

**A/N: Tada!**

**I know what you're all thinking: Finally, another chapter!**

**And I know, it took me a while to write it but I do have a reason. Turns out I'm supposed to write my dissertation and I really don’t want to. What the heck am I even supposed to write about?**

**Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter <3**

**Until next time**

**XOXO**

**Nyxi**


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